Secretary of Finance (Philippines)

Secretary of Finance
Kalihim ng Pananalapi
Official seal of the Department of Finance
Incumbent Ralph Recto since January 12, 2024
Style	The Honorable
Appointer	The president with the consent of the Commission on Appointments
Term length	No fixed term
Inaugural holder	Baldomero Aguinaldo
Formation	April 1897
Website	dof.gov.ph

The secretary of finance (Filipino : kalihim ng pananalapi) is the cabinet of the Philippines member in charge of the Department of Finance.

Ralph Recto is the current Secretary of Finance since January 12, 2024.

Powers and functions

According to the Administrative Code of 1987, the following are the powers and functions of a secretary: ^[1]

• Advise the president on matters under a department's jurisdiction;
• Establish the policies and standards for a department's operation;
• Promulgate rules and regulations;
• Promulgate administrative issuances;
• Exercise disciplinary powers over officers and employees under a secretary;
• Appoint officers and employees in a department;
• Exercise jurisdiction over a department's bureaus, offices, agencies and corporations;
• Delegate authority to officers and employees;
• Perform other functions provided by law.

List of secretaries of finance

Director of Finance (1897)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	President
1		Baldomero Aguinaldo (1869–1915)	April 24, 1897	November 1, 1897	Emilio Aguinaldo

Secretary of the Treasury (1897)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	President
(1)		Baldomero Aguinaldo (1869–1915)	November 1, 1897	December 15, 1897	Emilio Aguinaldo

Secretary of Finance (1898–1899)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	President
2		Mariano Trías (1868–1914)	January 23, 1899	May 7, 1899	Emilio Aguinaldo
3		Hugo Ilagan	May 7, 1899	November 13, 1899

Secretary of Finance and Justice (1901–1917)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Governor-General
4		Henry Clay Ide (1844–1921) [2]	September 1, 1901	June 30, 1908	William Howard Taft
					Luke Edward Wright
					Henry Clay Ide
					James Francis Smith
5		Gregorio S. Araneta (1869–1930) [3]	July 1, 1908	October 30, 1913
					William Cameron Forbes
					Newton W. Gilbert
					Francis Burton Harrison
6		Victorino Mapa (1855–1927) [4]	October 30, 1913	January 1, 1917

Secretary of Finance (1917–1935)

Act No. 2666 was passed on November 18, 1916, creating the Department of Finance from the Department of Finance and Justice as of January 1, 1917. ^[5]

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Governor-General
(6)		Victorino Mapa (1855–1927)	January 1, 1917	January 15, 1917	Francis Burton Harrison
7		Alberto Barretto [6]	January 15, 1917	July 17, 1928
					Charles Yeater
					Leonard Wood
					Eugene Allen Gilmore
					Henry L. Stimson
– [a]		Miguel Unson [6] [7]	July 17, 1928	August 14, 1928
8			August 14, 1928	December 13, 1931
					Eugene Allen Gilmore
					Dwight F. Davis
– [a]		Vicente Carmona [8]	January 1, 1932	December 31, 1932
					George C. Butte
					Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
9		Rafael Alunan Sr. (1885–1947)	January 1, 1933	April 30, 1933
– [a]		Vicente Singson Encarnacion (1875–1961) [9]	April 30, 1933	July 24, 1934
					Frank Murphy
10		Elpidio Quirino (1890–1956)	July 25, 1934	November 15, 1935

Secretary of Finance (1935–1941)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	President
10		Elpidio Quirino (1890–1956)	November 15, 1935	February 18, 1936	Manuel L. Quezon
11		Antonio de las Alas (1889–1983)	February 19, 1936	November 15, 1938
12		Manuel Roxas (1892–1948)	November 26, 1938	August 28, 1941
13		Serafin Marabut	August 28, 1941	December 24, 1941

Secretary of Finance, Agriculture and Commerce (1941–1944)

President Manuel L. Quezon issued Executive Order No. 396 on December 24, 1941, reorganizing the Department of Finance as the Department of Finance, Agriculture and Commerce. ^[10]

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	President
14		José Abad Santos (1886–1942) [11]	December 24, 1941	March 26, 1942	Manuel L. Quezon
15		Andrés Soriano (1898–1964) [11]	March 26, 1942	July 31, 1944

Commissioner of Finance (1942–1943)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Chairman of the Philippine Executive Commission
(11)		Antonio de las Alas (1889–1983) [12]	January 26, 1942	October 14, 1943	Jorge B. Vargas

Minister of Finance (1943–1945)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	President
(11)		Antonio de las Alas (1889–1983) [12]	October 14, 1943	March 20, 1945	Jose P. Laurel

Secretary of Finance (1944–1978)

President Sergio Osmeña issued Executive Order No. 15-W on August 8, 1944, creating the Department of Finance from the Department of Finance, Agriculture and Commerce. ^[13]

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	President
16		Jaime Hernandez	August 8, 1944	May 27, 1946	Sergio Osmeña
(10) [b]		Elpidio Quirino (1890–1956)	May 28, 1946	November 24, 1946	Manuel Roxas
17		Miguel Cuaderno Sr. (1890–1975)	November 25, 1946	January 2, 1949
					Elpidio Quirino
(16)		Jaime Hernandez	January 1949	January 1952
18		Aurelio Montinola Sr.	January 1952	December 1953
(16)		Jaime Hernandez	December 1953	January 1960	Ramon Magsaysay
					Carlos P. Garcia
19		Dominador Aytona (1918–2017)	January 25, 1960	December 29, 1961
20		Fernando Sison	January 2, 1962	July 31, 1962	Diosdado Macapagal
21		Rodrigo Perez	August 1, 1962	January 7, 1964
22		Rufino Hechanova	January 8, 1964	December 13, 1965
23		Eduardo Romualdez (1909–2001)	January 1, 1966	February 4, 1970	Ferdinand Marcos
24		Cesar Virata (born 1930)	February 9, 1970	June 2, 1978

Minister of Finance (1978–1987)

President Ferdinand Marcos issued Presidential Decree No. 1397 on June 2, 1978, converting all departments into ministries headed by ministers. ^[14]

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	President
(24)		Cesar Virata (born 1930)	June 2, 1978	March 3, 1986	Ferdinand Marcos
25		Jaime Ongpin (1939–1987)	March 26, 1986	February 11, 1987	Corazon Aquino

Secretary of Finance (from 1987)

President Corazon Aquino issued Administrative Order No. 15 on February 11, 1987, converting all ministries into departments headed by secretaries. ^[15]

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	President
(25)		Jaime Ongpin (1939–1987)	February 11, 1987	September 14, 1987	Corazon Aquino
26		Vicente Jayme	September 15, 1987	December 1989
27		Jesus Estanislao	January 1, 1990	June 30, 1992
28		Ramon del Rosario	July 1, 1992	June 1, 1993	Fidel V. Ramos
29		Ernest Leung	June 2, 1993	January 31, 1994
30		Roberto de Ocampo	February 1, 1994	March 30, 1998
31		Salvador Enriquez	April 1, 1998	June 30, 1998
32		Edgardo Espiritu (1935–2025)	July 1, 1998	December 31, 1998	Joseph Estrada
33		Jose Pardo	January 2, 2000	January 20, 2001
34		Alberto Romulo (born 1933)	January 23, 2001	June 30, 2001	Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
35		Jose Isidro Camacho (born 1955)	June 30, 2001	November 30, 2003
36		Juanita Amatong (born 1935)	December 1, 2003	February 14, 2005
37		Cesar Purisima (born 1960)	February 15, 2005	July 15, 2005
38		Margarito Teves (born 1943)	July 22, 2005	June 30, 2010
(37)		Cesar Purisima (born 1960) [16]	June 30, 2010	June 30, 2016	Benigno Aquino III
39		Carlos Dominguez III (born 1945) [17]	June 30, 2016	June 30, 2022	Rodrigo Duterte
40		Benjamin Diokno (born 1948)	June 30, 2022	January 12, 2024	Bongbong Marcos
41		Ralph Recto (born 1964)	January 12, 2024	Incumbent

Notes

1. Acting secretary.
2. In concurrent capacity as Vice President.

References

1. "Executive Order No. 292 [BOOK IV/Chapter 2-Secretaries, Undersecretaries, and Assistant Secretaries]". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines . This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
2. Public Laws and Resolutions Passed by the United States Philippine Commission. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1901. p. 737.
3. Journal of the Philippine Commission Being the Second Session of the First Philippine Legislature. Manila: Bureau of Printing. 1910. pp. 137–138.
4. Journal of the Philippine Commission Being the Second Session, October 16, 1913, to February 3, 1914, and A Special Session, February 6, 1914, to February 28, 1914, of the Third Philippine Legislature. Manila: Bureau of Printing. 1914. p. 25.
5. "Act No. 2666. - AN ACT TO REORGANIZE THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS". Supreme Court E-Library.
6. Annual Report of the Governor General Philippine Islands, 1923. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1925. p. 123.
7. Official Roster of Officers and Employees in the Civil Service of the Philippine Islands, December 31, 1928. Manila: Bureau of Printing. 1928. p. 59.
8. Official Register of the United States, 1932. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1932. p. 42.
9. Official Register of the United States, 1934. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1935. p. 41.
10. "Executive Order No. 396, s. 1941". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines .
11. The Sixth Annual Report of the United States High Commissioner to the Philippine Islands to the President and Congress of the United States Covering the Fiscal Year July 1, 1941 to June 30, 1942. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1943. p. 79.
12. Official Gazette Vol. 1, No. 1. Manila: Bureau of Printing. 1942. p. 15.
13. "Executive Order No. 15-W, s. 1944". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines .
14. "Presidential Decree No. 1397, s. 1978". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines .
15. "Administrative Order No. 15, s. 1987". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines .
16. "Benigno S. Aquino III". Presidential Museum and Library. Archived from the original on July 6, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
17. Viray, Patricia Lourdes (June 30, 2016). "Duterte's Cabinet takes oath, holds first meeting". The Philippine Star. Archived from the original on July 1, 2016.

External links

• DOF website