DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. (Noel Pabalate/ MANILA BULLETIN)

Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.'s recent appointment as Department of Agriculture (DA) secretary will help the Philippines avoid fast inflation moving forward. 

Thus, said Albay 2nd district Rep. Joey Salceda, who attested to Laurel's capabilities. 

"I welcome the appointment of a new DA chief in Secretary Frankie Tiu-Laurel, whose family is an old friend of mine from my days in the financing sector. The appointment bodes well for fighting inflation," Salceda said in a statement Tuesday, Nov. 1. 

The economist-lawmaker claimed that Secretary Tiu-Laurel "has a strong handle on the intersection of food and energy, two key drivers of inflation". 

According  Salceda, the Tiu-Laurels were among the first to be very aggressive with capital investments in the agriculture and fisheries sector. 

"As a young financing manager back then, I helped finance their massive fleet expansion," recalled Salceda, chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means. 

"The secretary knows very well that food and agricultural expansion require investment, modernization, and above all, private sector initiative. I thus expect a very strong shift in this direction when it comes to agricultural policy. 

"Meeting our food needs require scale that only large private investors with accompanying know-how can finance," Salceda said. 

"I congratulate him on his appointment and look forward to helping him meet his marching orders from our President," he added. 

Laurel's appointment as DA secretary was announced by Malacañang last Nov.3. Before this, President Marcos himself had served as the agriculture chief. 

The Laurel family owns the 57-year-old Frabelle Fishing Corporation.