During his six years as the finance secretary, or finance minister, of the Philippines, Cesar Purisima has steered the country onto a path of fiscal stability, robust economic growth and increasing infrastructure investment through public-private partnerships (PPPs). And although it is not certain he will continue as finance secretary after Filipinos elect a new president on May 9, 2016, Mr Purisima argues his economic reforms are so institutionally embedded that they are here to stay.
Throughout Mr Purisima’s mandate, the Philippines' gross domestic product (GDP) growth averaged at a solid 6.2%. But the finance secretary’s work was about keeping the books in order as much as it was about growth.
