In his 'contra-SONA', Libanan asks Marcos to entrust DA to someone else
4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino "Nonoy" Libanan (Contributed photo)
House Minority Leader and 4Ps Party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan has renewed calls for President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. to designate a full-time secretary at the Department of Agriculture (DA). Libanan underscored this appeal in his "contra-SONA (State of the Nation Address)", which he delivered on the House plenary floor Wednesday afternoon, July 26. According to the ranking congressman, the country needs the "undivided attention" of the Marcos, who, since assuming the presidency on June 30, 2022, has also acted as DA chief. “The President’s mind need to be freed from the nitty-gritty of a department-level affair," Libanan said in his contra-SONA. "The whole bureaucracy--nay, the whole country--need his undivided attention at the helm of the ship of the state. The Chief Executive should leave the agriculture portfolio to someone in his bosom confidence,” he said. Calls for Marcos to name a full-time DA chief have grown louder following the lapse of the appointment ban on election candidates last May. Marcos delivered his second SONA last Monday, July 24, also at the plenary hall of the House of Representatives.