Palace stands by Finance chief

By Arjay L. Balinbin
Reporter
MALACAÑANG on Wednesday said Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III of the Department of Finance (DoF) “continues to enjoy the trust and confidence” of President Rodrigo R. Duterte amid calls for his resignation.
“Some quarters have been asking for the resignation of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez. The Palace finds no reason or basis for such call,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said in a statement on Wednesday, Oct. 31.
The Manila Times reported on the same day that the “Coalition Against Corruption (CAC)” is calling for the resignation of Mr. Dominguez because “the DoF has not shown any visible initiative to curb corruption” in the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BoC), “despite President Duterte’s declared war on corruption.”
But according to Mr. Panelo, “Secretary Dominguez continues to enjoy the trust and confidence of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.”
He noted that “as one of the President’s trusted economic managers, he steered our economy to become one of the best-performing growth leaders in the region and continues to perform remarkably.”
“Revenue collections reached new record-highs during his stewardship, including the highest first quarter tax effort we have ever achieved in the past 25 years. We expect Secretary Dominguez to maintain his superb work ethic for the rest of his stint in the Department of Finance,” Mr. Panelo added.
As for the issues surrounding the BoC, Mr. Panelo said: “Secretary Dominguez is aware of what is happening in the bureau. The corruption in the BoC is complex, and the Secretary does not need to be blunt just to exhibit what he does to address it. He was in touch with former BoC Chief Isidro Lapeña, and he is slated to meet with the new Customs head Rey Leonardo Guerrero regarding the bureau’s operations.”