Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco Laurel Jr. denied rumors that President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. appointed the former as "payback" for his contributions during the campaign period of the 2022 National and Local Elections.
Based on a report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), Laurel donated Php 30 million to Partido Federal ng Pilipinas, the political party of Marcos.
Laurel said that he decided to accept the challenge of leading DA out of love for the Philippines.
"There is no payback. As I said, sacrifice na rin ito. It is love for country talaga," Laurel said during a press briefing on Monday, November 6.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Laurel sa pagpili sa DA: When I was asked by the President to join DA, I actually hesitated a couple of times but then at the end of the day, nachallenge ako to do something for the country. Ang bottomline, mahal ko ang bansa natin.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SamaSamaTayoPilipino?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SamaSamaTayoPilipino</a>
&mdash; DZRH NEWS (@dzrhnews) <a href="https://twitter.com/dzrhnews/status/1721340292199223705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 6, 2023</a></blockquote>
In response to concerns on conflict of interest, Laurel assured that he has divested from the Frabelle Fishing Corp. in order to work full-time as Agriculture secretary.
"I have no more interest in all the companies that I used to own," Laurel said.
"DA is a full-time job. I have not time to do anything else. Malaki ang department, complicated ng kaunti, maraming iba't ibang (bureaus and Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations)," he stressed.
Marcos headed the DA before he announced the <a href="https://www.dzrh.com.ph/post/pbbm-appoints-agri-secretary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appointment of the Laurel </a>on Friday, November 3.

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'No payback' Laurel says on appointment as DA Secretary