Domínguez returned to government service on July 1, 2016, as President Duterte's
Secretary of Finance, and led the implementation of the Duterte administration's zero-to-ten point socioeconomic agenda. As Secretary of Finance, Domínguez served as a member of the Monetary Board of the
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Governor for the Philippines at the
Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Governor for the Philippines at the
World Bank, and Alternate Governor for the Philippines at the
International Monetary Fund (IMF). His post also made him ex-officio Chairman of various government-owned institutions – the
Land Bank of the Philippines, the
Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC), the
Social Security System (SSS), the
Philippine Guarantee Corporation (PHILGUARANTEE), the
Philippine Export-Import Credit Agency (PhilEXIM), the
National Transmission Corporation (TransCo), and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation (PSALM). As Secretary of Finance, he had supervision over the
Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the
Bureau of Customs (BOC), the Bureau of the Treasury (BTR), the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF), the Insurance Commission (IC), the National Tax Research Center (NTRC), the Central Board of Assessment Appeal (CBAA), the Privatization Management Office (PMO), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the
Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp (PCIC), and the
Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). Dominguez was also served as chairperson of the Cabinet-level Economic Development Cluster. He also served as co-chair of the Intergovernmental Relations Body (IGRB), which is tasked to coordinate and resolve issues affecting the implementation of the
Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) and the programs and projects of the national government in the
Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). In addition, he was the President’s representative to the Climate Change Commission (CCC). Under his leadership, the Department of Finance (DOF) drafted and introduced to Congress the first of a series of the Duterte administration’s proposed tax reform packages known as the
Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law (TRAIN) Act less than 90 days from the time he assumed the Cabinet portfolio in July 2016. President Duterte signed into law the TRAIN Act on December 19, 2017, which reduced the personal income taxes for 99 percent of taxpayers in the country. The passage of TRAIN was followed by other legislation such as the Tax Amnesty Act, the Tobacco Tax Reform Law, and a Sin Tax Reform Law that raised excise taxes on alcohol and electronic cigarettes to help fund the Universal Health Care Program. During Domínguez’s tenure, the Philippines’ key revenue agencies the BIR and the BOC continued to achieve strong revenue growth rates. It was also under his leadership that the BIR was able to collect its largest tax settlement from a single taxpayer in Philippine history, amounting to PHP 30 billion or USD 600 million. Domínguez also combated corruption and modernized the country's tax collections and payments. He also led the enactment of the Rice Tariffication Act, which liberalized the Philippine rice market and, in turn lowered the price of the country’s staple food for more than 100 million
Filipinos. Domínguez also led the funding efforts for the Duterte administration’s USD 170 billion
Build! Build! Build! Infrastructure Program through concessional loans from partner countries and institutions, such as Japan, South Korea, China, the European Union, the United States, and from the World Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and the ADB. As a result, the government's infrastructure spending rose from a pre-2016 average of 2.5% to above 5% of the country’s GDP during the Duterte administration. During Domínguez's tenure at the helm of the DOF, the Philippines received credit rating upgrades from
Standard & Poor's,
Moody's,
Fitch Ratings, and the
Japan Credit Rating Agency. The Philippines enjoyed a record low debt-to-GDP ratio of 39.6% in 2019 with Domínguez as head of the country’s economic team. He was also able to raise the Philippines’ revenue effort to 16.1% of GDP in 2019. During the pandemic, Domínguez spearheaded the funding of the country’s procurement of vaccines and direct responses to the economic downturn. The Philippines’ COVID-19 response program amounted to about PHP 3 trillion, equivalent to 15.6 percent of GDP. To help businesses negatively affected by the pandemic, Domínguez pushed for the enactment of COVID-19 recovery measures. These include the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE), which gave tax breaks to 99 percent of business enterprises; and the Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer Act (FIST) to help relieve the banking system from bad loans and other non-performing assets. Domínguez was conferred by the President of the Philippines with the
Order of Lakandula with the Rank of Grand Cross (Bayani) for his service to the nation. The Order of Lakandula is awarded to distinguished persons of political and civic merit. Domínguez was also conferred by the Emperor of Japan with the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun for exercising outstanding leadership in promoting cooperation between Japan and the Philippines. The recognition is the highest ordinary order conferred in Japan. == References ==