BIZ BUZZ: Recto appointment cheered
Those in business and political circles are cheering the appointment of Ralph Recto as executive secretary, describing it as timely as the Philippines finds itself confronting two overlapping crises: a sweeping infrastructure corruption scandal and the sharpest economic slowdown in four years.
In this context, Recto as executive secretary or “Little President” will have to undertake three major roles: (1) economic reform strategist, with the fiscal expertise and political resolve to implement tactical and necessary solutions; (2) public trust rebuilder, with the willpower to trim the fat and preserve the muscle within the ranks of national governance; and (3) political stabilizer, with the breadth of experience across various domains of governance to reconcile friction and disharmony among them.
Given Recto’s training plus experience in both the finance and political circles, major business groups believe that he will be more than up to the tasks.
They believe that Recto’s appointment at 61—young enough to act with urgency yet seasoned by decades of public service—revitalizes the executive secretary’s office from passive advisership to proactive accountability.
His entry signals a decisive shift toward disciplined, coordinated and transparent crisis governance—a brand of leadership defined by strategic foresight, firm resolve and the political will to drive long-overdue reform.
