LONDON, April 7 (Reuters) - The Philippines finance minister said on Thursday he backed the tax-cut plans of candidates in the country's presidential race, with the caveat that they should be part of an overhaul of the wider tax system.
"I believe it is important that we align our tax rates with the rest of Asean," Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, who will step down after the May 9 election, said at an Asia House event.
He added that the money laundering scandal over a heist of Bangladesh central bank money was a "rogue" case and that authorities already had plans to tighten regulation in the wake of the scandal.
Ahead of IMF Spring meetings next week, Purisima said discussions were likely to centre on how to boost lacklustre global growth.
When asked about the recent fall in the dollar against the Japanese yen, he said currency moves should be market-driven.
(Reporting by Marc Jones, editing by Nigel Stephenson)