MANILA – Emmanuel Piñol remains as secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DAR) amid rumors that he is set to be replaced following his controversial meeting with Filipino fishermen whose boat was rammed and abandoned by a Chinese vessel at Reed Bank.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said there was no truth to reports that Piñol would be replaced or transferred to another agency as President Rodrigo Duterte still trusts him.
“Honestly, I have not heard of a Cabinet revamp. I only hear about that as rumors,” Panelo said. “Si Presidente, sinasabi niya nang harap-harapan eh na ‘I’m not happy with you.”
“I think so (Duterte still trust Piñol). Wala naman siyang sinasabi sa amin na hindi siya happy,” he added.
Piñol drew flak after his meeting in Occidental Mindoro last week after the fishermen, who earlier claimed they were abandoned, changed their tune and said they were no longer sure about what happened.
Piñol could have coerced them to lie about the real incident in the Reed Bank earlier this month but the Agriculture chief denied this allegation.
“Hindi naman ako makapangyarihan. Kung totoong sa paniwala nila talagang ‘yun ang kanilang paninindigan, I don’t think I will be able to persuade them,” Piñol said in an interview.
“What I did was just to come up with consensus among themselves,” he added. “Ganito po ang aking challenge. Kausapin nila ‘yung mga mangingisda. Ngayon wala nang makapagsasabi na ini-intimidate sila o minamaneobra ‘yung kanilang statement.”
The 22 fishermen is stand to receive P25,000 each under the DAR’s Survival Response Loan Program to “help them recover from their losses after the unfortunate incident.”
They will also be getting new fiber glass boats with accessories from the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and additional funding from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation./PN
