BY PRINCE GOLEZ
Manila Reporter
MANILA – They are both qualified, but only one “boss” should lead the agriculture sector, said Iloilo City’s Senate President Franklin Drilon.
“Mahusay naman ng mga taong ‘yan. Ang problema kasi ‘pag dalawa kayong boss ay mahirap sa mga subordinates. Sino ba ang susundin dito sa dalawa,” said Drilon.
While Secretary of Agriculture Proceso Alcala is the chair of the National Irrigation Administration, it is also managed by Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization’s Secretary Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.
Same goes for the National Food Authority, said Drilon.
President Benigno Aquino III appointed Pangilinan as “agriculture czar” in May.
The former senator is expected to “hasten” and “intensify” the country’s efforts to achieve sustainable food security and targets to modernize agriculture.
Having two heads, however, does not help the poor performance of the agriculture sector, said Drilon.
He urged Aquino to “review” the current structure of the Department of Agriculture.
“Talaga pong nakikita natin na bumabagsak ang agriculture sector ng bansa. Ang paglago po ng ating agriculture sector for the first quarter of the year, less than one percent. Ang mahihirap natin, nasa kanayunan, kaya naman tumataas ang poverty incidence,” said Drilon.
He lamented that the sector failed to improve its productivity amid continuous support from the government.
“It appears to me that the consistent prioritization given by the administration to the agriculture sector failed to yield good results,” said Drilon./PN
