In 1901, the Department of Finance and Justice was formally organized by virtue of an act passed by the Civil Service Commission, which was headed by William Howard Taft.

It spearheaded the creation of inter-agency committees to rationalize the otherwise free-for-all system of allocating government resources.

Accordingly, the department was reorganized and its organizational structure, distribution of powers and functions, and coordination mechanisms were streamlined.

Through the Department's policies, which resulted in sound fiscal and monetary conditions, the Philippines was hailed as "Asia's Newest Tiger" by various international credit institutions and in 1997, the National Government recorded a budget surplus for the third consecutive year, and the public sector generated its fiscal surplus since the sector started to be monitored in 1985.

In 2004, the Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCRA) maintained its credit rating of "BBB" for the Philippines’ long-term foreign currency and domestic currency long-term senior debts for the government's ability to manage its deficit and macro fundamentals.