PRESIDENT-ELECT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.—through his incoming Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles—has announced his intent to nominate Amenah F. Pangandaman to serve as his Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

Pangandaman, who is an official of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), welcomed her nomination as Marcos’ top aide in charge of overseeing the budget for the entire government.

“We support the incoming administration’s mission towards a broad-based and inclusive economic recovery, bringing the Philippines back on track to achieving a high-middle income status,” Pangandaman said.

“It is my honor to serve the Filipino people during this critical juncture in our history.

As Budget and Management Secretary, I will do my utmost to live up to the trust placed in me by the President-elect and craft responsive budget and management policies that will support our rebuilding efforts from the pandemic,” Pangandaman said.

“The pandemic was a challenge like no other in the way it stretched our resources and set us back on our goals as a nation. My team and I vow to work with the rest of the economic team and continue the policies and reforms that we have long fought for. We will strive to ensure prudent and transparent use of public funds in a way that allows us to regain lost ground while also uplifting the lives of the ordinary Filipino. Finally, I thank the President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos for this privilege to serve the Filipino people. Mabuhay!” Pangandaman added.

She vowed to pursue prudent management of the government’s fiscal resources, the modernization of the budget system, incorporation of sustainability and green principles in government spending, and the promotion of sustainable economic growth through strategic investment in high-impact infrastructure and human capital development.

As the incoming DBM chief, Pangandaman offers diversity and fresh perspective to an otherwise male- dominated team of economic technocrats.

A Maranao with roots from the south, Pangandaman always aims to give Mindanao a voice in her capacity as a public servant in the different branches of government.

Having served in the Legislative, Executive, and in the central bank, she has a unique perspective on the Philippine bureaucracy and a deep understanding of the interplay among the different sectors and agencies in the economic sector.

Pangandaman is currently BSP’s Concurrent Assistant Governor for Strategic Communication and Advocacy and Executive Offices Coordinator.

In that capacity, she’s a key implementer of BSP’s strategic initiatives aimed at bringing the central bank closer to the Filipino people.

She also championed financial inclusion and digital transformation, and steered the execution of major projects supporting the Governor’s goals within and outside the halls of the BSP.

With her extensive experience in the Legislative branch, she likewise advocated for enactment of the BSP’s priority legislative measures.

Pangandaman is not new to the budget process. She was Undersecretary at the DBM during the Duterte Administration.

Acting as head of the functional group of the Office of the DBM Secretary, she directly supervised the Department Liaison Office and Budget Technical Bureau.

During her stint at the budget department, she pushed for crucial budget reforms and was a key mover in the preparation, implementation, and monitoring of the General Appropriations Act.

She also oversaw the implementation of Green, Green, Green—a budget assistance program for local government units to develop sustainable public open spaces.

Prior to her appointment to the DBM, she oversaw the enactment of budget laws as Chief-of-Staff to the late Senate President Edgardo Angara and then Committee on Finance Chairperson Senator Loren Legarda.

Pangandaman has a degree in Economics from the Far Eastern University, a diploma and master’s degree in Development Economics from the University of the Philippines, and is currently pursuing her Executive Master of Public Administration from the London School of Economics.