'More choices' now for Marcos should he name full-time DA chief, says Salo


At a glance

  • Kabayan Party-list Rep. Ron Salo says President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. now has "more choices" when it comes to naming a full-time Department of Agriculture (DA) secretary, should he decide to go that route.

  • Marcos is the concurrent DA secretary.


20230306_231749.jpg Kabayan Party-list Rep. Ron Salo (left), and President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (Rep. Salo's office, MANILA BULLETIN)





President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. now has "more choices" when it comes to naming a full-time Department of Agriculture (DA) secretary, should he decide to go that route.

Thus, said administration congessman Kabayan Party-list Rep. Ron Salo in a statement Wednesday, May 10.

"With the lifting of the appointment ban on election candidates, PBBM (Marcos) now has more choices to name a full time DA secretary who can continue the reforms PBBM has instituted and deliver the programs to attain food self-sufficiency and lower cost of food and basic commodities," Salo said.

The veteran lawmaker was referring to the one-year ban on the appointment of non-winning candidates who ran for posts in the May 9, 2022 national elections.

Marcos is the concurrent DA secretary.

According to Salo, naming a full-time DA chief "will enable the President to focus his attention in administering a burgeoning executive department, with all the various departments, bureaus and offices".

"This will also afford him more time in overseeing the adoption of policies and programs that will aid in achieving greater economic prosperity and safer and orderly society," he said.

"The President’s leadership is also greatly needed in effectively navigating the challenges concerning our relations with our neighboring countries," added Salo, who chairs the House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs.

"Nonetheless, the president remains to be in the best position to assess the readiness of the [DA] to be headed by a new secretary," he said.