Euromoney names Purisima Finance Minister of 2012

MANILA, Philippines – Euromoney magazine named Philippine Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima as the world’s top finance minister this year for his “careful and successful stewardship” of the local economy.

Euromoney Editor Clive Horwood conferred the award on Purisima in a simple ceremony on Friday, October 12.

“Our sources report a real and positive view of the Philippines and cite the leadership and decision-making that [he has] shown as a key factor in this sentiment,” Horwood said.

Purisima welcomed the award in a Twitter post.

an honor to be named @euromoney Finance Minister of the Year for 2012. Award bring presented by Clive Horwood, Editor lockerz.com/s/252338938

— Cesar Purisima (@CVP1960) October 12, 2012

Purisima joins the other winners of the prestigious award, namely, Jim Flaherty of Canada (2009), Russia’s Alexei Kudrin (2010), and Wayne Swan of Australia (2011).

This is the second global award for Purisima. In 2011, he was also named Finance Minister of the Year for Asia by London-based financial news source Emerging Markets.

Purisima returned to government service in 2010 after President Benigno Aquino III won the polls. In 2005, he led other public officials in resigning en mass from the Cabinet of former President Gloria Arroyo. 

Purisima has been active in pushing for Aquino’s anti-corruption platform — “daang matuwid” (straight path).

As the de facto leader of the Cabinet’s economic cluster, he pursued Aquino’s promise of plugging the leakage in the tax system by continuing his Arroyo-era name-and-shame campaign against tax evaders and smugglers.

The tax agencies under him — the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs — have been coordinating with the Department of Justice in the regular filing of cases against alleged wrongdoers.

These tax administration efforts have helped shore up government revenues needed to trim the Philippine budget deficit — one of the major factors international credit rating agencies took into account for the past 7 rating upgrades they gave the country.

Purisima, meanwhile, is also among the brains behind the Aquino administration’s public-private partnership program, which will roll out vital infrastructure projects vital to improving the investment climate.

Prior to being finance chief under Arroyo and Aquino, Purisima also served as trade secretary in 2004.

Before joining the government, he headed one of the country’s biggest auditing firms, Sycip, Gorres & Velayo. – Rappler.com