Pimentel: Marcos can still focus on agriculture issues even if he appoints DA chief

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. can still focus on the problems hounding the country's agriculture sector even if he appoints a full-time Agriculture Department secretary, said Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III.

"Sana mag-appoint na siya ng full-time secretary sa agriculture. Pero ang akin ngang point is nothing prevents the President from focusing still on agriculture pero meron ka nang napiling secretary na katulong mo 'di ba? Eh di magtulungan kayo," Pimentel said on the Mangahas Interviews.

Pimentel said Marcos should choose someone familiar with agricultural issues and someone who has the heart to solve the problems of ordinary Filipinos, such as access to food and the prices of agricultural products.

Recently, the President, who serves as the concurrent Secretary of Agriculture, said he will only leave his post when structural changes to the department have been made.

Health secretary

Meanwhile, Pimentel also said Marcos should appoint a Department of Health secretary.

"'Yung sa DA pwede niya pa i-excuse na si presidente ang acting secretary. Eh dito? Sino pala?" Pimentel asked.

More than 100 days into his administration, Marcos has yet to appoint a DOH secretary. The department is currently headed by OIC Maria Rosario Vergeire.

Pimentel also defended the appointment of former Philippine National Police chief Camilo Cascolan as Health undersecretary, saying the latter should be given time to prove his worth in the department.

"Ngayon 'yung pag-appoint ng former police chief sa DOH siguro bigyan na lang natin siya ng time to prove his worth in the department kasi siguro ang idea ganito e, napakalaking administrative body yan, just like the police. Eh napatakbo niya ang police baka he can look at how the DOH is structured. Mag-suggest siya ng improvements. Sana ganon," he said.

Pimentel mentioned the case of one of his lawyer friends who contributed to the DOH in their legal matters.

The lawmaker reiterated that appointing an official is a prerogative of the President.

Percy Lapid

On the other hand, the Senate minority chief urged authorities to assign their best investigator to the slay case of journalist Percy Lapid.

"Dapat ma-solve po ito. Hindi pwede maging statistic lang ito na additional death of a journalist," Pimentel said.

"Ang panawagan ko sa pulis to assign their best investigators to solve this case," he added.

At first, Pimentel said he was hopeful that the case would be solved immediately because the gunman had surrendered to authorities.

However, his confidence waned when news came out that the alleged middleman in Lapid's killing had died.

"I-explain nila nang mabuti to. Bakit nagkaganito?" Pimentel asked.

On Friday, the Department of Justice said that the eighth person of interest in the Lapid slaying had been transferred to the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

The Philippine National Police said there were 160 persons of interest in the killing of Lapid, including suspended Bureau of Corrections chief Gerald Bantag. — DVM, GMA News