President-elect Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has not yet named his nominee for agriculture chief because of the large number of applicants, according to his incoming press secretary.
In a televised interview last Wednesday, incoming Press Secretary Rose Beatrix Cruz-Angeles said Marcos is taking his time in selecting the next head of the Department of Agriculture.
“One of the priority agenda of the President-elect is agriculture and therefore the selection has to be done carefully.”
After the announcement of Marcos’ win in the elections earlier this month, Angeles said he has received a lot of applications for the position.
“So to be fair, we have to go through all [of the applications], which is prolonging the selection [process],” Angeles said.
Marcos had said stabilizing the price of food, particularly by helping farmers and fisherfolks, will be among his priority agenda.
The President-elect had earlier announced the nominees for his economic team, including Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin E. Diokno as finance secretary, former University of the Philippines (UP) President Alfred E. Pascual as trade secretary, and BSP Assistant Governor Amenah F. Pangandaman as budget secretary.
Bypassed officials
Meanwhile, five officials who were appointed by President Duterte to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Civil Service Commission (CSC) and Commission on Audit (COA) face uncertainty during the Marcos administration.
This after the Commission on Appointment (CA) was unable to reaffirm the appointments of the said officials last Wednesday due to lack of quorum.
Among those affected are Comelec Chairman Saidamen B. Pangarungan and Comelec Commissioners Aimee S.Torrefranca-Neri and George M. Garcia; CSC Chairman Karlo B. Nograles; and COA Chairperson Rizalina N. Justol.
Duterte appointed Justol to head COA last February, while Nograles, Pangarungan, Neri and Garcia assumed their new assignments last March.
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri disclosed that some lawmakers feel that Marcos should be given the choice to pick the heads of the three Constitutional bodies.
When asked if Marcos will consider reappointing the said officials, Angeles said she has still no information on the matter.
But she lauded the leeway provided by lawmakers, when it comes to the appointment of officials for Comelec, CSC, and COA.
“We are only appreciative of the gesture that the President-elect’s opinion or choices on the officials are taken into consideration.”