Cesar Purisima wins Finance Minister of the Year award for 5th time

MANILA, Philippines - Beating his counterparts in Singapore, China and Japan, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima was recognized for the fifth time as Finance Minister of the Year by financial publishing company FinanceAsia.

Purisima was cited for his management of the Philippine economy which resulted in the country reaching investment frade status from all major credit rating agencies. FinanceAsia also recognized his role in pushing for sin tax reform, which boosted the health budget by 57 percent.

Purisima said the Philippines has managed to grow at an average of 6 percent in the past years and cut deficit at an all-time low. Stocks have risen by 125 percent and foreign direct investments soared at 6 percent from January to October, he added.

"The award truly belongs to President Aquino and my colleagues in the Philippine cabinet because the economic growth and fiscal reforms are truly a team effort, proving that ‘Good Governance is Good Economics.’ We have proven yet again that the Philippine miracle is not a one-hit wonder. We’re here to stay, and we are ready to play big in the world stage,” The Department of Finance secretary said during the awards ceremony.

In 2011, Purisima was recognized as the Finance Minister of the Year for Asia by Emerging Markets, while Euromoney gave him the distinction of Finance Minister of the Year for 2012. In 2013, he became a repeat awardee of the Finance Minister of the Year for Asia distinction from Emerging Markets. Most recently, he was cited by The Banker as Finance Minister of the Year for Asia Pacific in 2013. Purisima is also the first and so far only repeat awardee of the said distinction from Emerging Markets since the publication started recognizing Finance Ministers of the Year for Asia in 2007.

“Reforms beget rewards. This award strengthens our resolve to double down on reforms: rationalize fiscal incentives, modernize our revenue generating agencies, and engineer a competitive and equitable tax structure for all Filipinos,” Purisima said.