FORMER Senator and now Finance Secretary Ralph Recto has urged the Asian Development Bank to increase its assistance in strengthening the country’s human capital development, particularly in education and nutrition programs to uplift the quality of life of every Filipino.

Recto’s call came after he has secured commitments from ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa to support key priority development programs for the Philippines, focusing on boosting digitalization, improving human capital and infrastructure, and enhancing disaster preparedness.

The Finance chief also sought more support from the ADB for the government’s digitalization program to improve tax collection efficiency, especially now that a fourth of Filipino consumers have moved to e-commerce.

He emphasized that slow adaptation to digitalization amidst the rising e-commerce would result in an immense potential revenue leakage.

To this end, the ADB has committed to closely work with the Philippine government on a proposed Digital Transformation Project for the Bureau of Internal Revenue as part of the Bank’s long-standing support on the country’s tax reform initiatives and domestic resource mobilization efforts.

He likewise called for strengthened collaboration in harnessing renewable energy resources to accelerate the Philippines’ transition to clean energy.