President-elect Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. on Monday announced that he will be taking on the role of the secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA) when he assumes office on June 30.
"I have decided to take on the portfolio of secretary of agriculture, at least for now and at least until we can reorganize the Department of Agriculture (DA) in a way that will make it ready for the next years to come," Marcos said in a press briefing held in his headquarters in Mandaluyong City.
"I thought it is important that the president take that portfolio so that not only to make it clear to everyone what a high priority we put on the agri sector but also as a practical matter so that things move quickly because the events of the global economy are moving very quickly," he added.
The President-elect made the statement weeks after DA warned of a food crisis in the second half of 2022.
According to Marcos, his administration wants to focus on and prepare for the looming increase in food prices with the hope of counteracting some of the increases in prices.
Aside from that, he also plans to increase food production in the Philippines and restructure the DA.
"As I have mentioned many times before, many of the agencies change their function over the years. Maybe it's time to return them, I've talked about the places, organizations, the NFA... the Kadiwa, which we already have started to see especially at the local level," he said.
"But we have to restructure the actual department so as to be more responsive to the global situation now when it comes to the food supply," he added.
Marcos will be succeeding William Dar, who headed the agency for three years.
