Cavite 4th district Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. said he'd favor a recommendation to the President to reshuffle the personnel within the Department of Agriculture (DA).
But Barzaga, one of the more active congressmen in the ongoing inquiry of the House Committee on Agriculture on the issue of agricultural hoarding, noted that a reshuffle in the agency won't be automatic for every employee.
The main personality in the House investigation so far has been agri-preneur Lilia Cruz, alias Leah Cruz. She has been dubbed the "Sibuyas Queen" even before the inquiry began, and her notoriety preceeded her.
Barzaga believes that Cruz, who buys onions (sibuyas) from local farmers wholesale and then allegedly keeps them in cold storage, is embedded or have deep connections within concerned agencies, including the DA.
Asked if he would recommend to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. a reshuffle in the DA as a way to severe Cruz's connections from the inside, the veteran solon said, "Sa aking pananaw, kinakailangan, mayroon tayong ebidensya (In my view, it's needed, we have evidence that she is embedded)."
Of the three public hearings held so far by the agriculture and food panel on the hoarding-slash-price manipulation issue, Cruz attended the first two.
It was during her participation in these two hearings--and the remarks made about her by other invited resource persons like farmers--wherein solons like Barzaga have formed their opinion on Cruz.
Barzaga had earlier noted that the businesswoman had been linked to the shortages of agricultural goods like garlic back in 2014.
Marcos, who assumed the Palace seat only on June 30, 2022, currently acts as the DA secretary.
Barzaga admitted that a DA reshuffle would affect employees who are civil service eligible. "Kinakailangan may due process sa kanila (Those need to have due process)," he said.
"Hindi katulad ng mga (They are unlike) secretaries, undersecretaries, that they are appointed by the President on the basis of the sole discretion of the President. They are not governed by the civil service rules," he explained.