PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Friday, December 21, revealed his plan to appoint retired Philippine Air Force (PAF) chief Lieutenant General Galileo Gerard Kintanar Jr. as the new head of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA).
Duterte made the announcement when he led the PAF change of command ceremony at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.
"I was looking for a candidate to be the chairman who should be someone na talagang maasahan ko na walang mawala maski piso (I can rely on when it comes to money). And I have observed him. We are not -- we are casual. I do not know General Kintanar, but I choose him to be the chairman of that [PCA] board," the President said.
"I don’t know him. I know that he is the general, chose to retire early, and that is really no cause to worry, just a few months but sabi ko, kailangan ko ng tao (I said I really need someone to lead the PCA) And I am eyeing you," he added, referring to Kintanar.
More than two weeks earlier, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol bared that the President had wanted five PCA board members to tender their courtesy resignations to pave way for the revamp of the agency in light of the expected enactment of the coco levy bill into law.
Those asked to submit their courtesy resignations were PCA administrator and board vice chairman Romulo dela Rosa and members Alan Tanjuakio, Manuel Serra Jr., Conrado Capa, and Roque Quimpan.
Once the coco levy measure is signed into law, the PCA board will be reorganized.
Under the proposed Coco Levy Act, the P100-billion coco levy funds will be managed by the reconstituted PCA for coconut farmers.
Duterte said he believed in Kintanar's competence and integrity to lead the PCA.
"It’s going to go up something like P100 billion plus [in coco levy funds]. Now, if it is coursed through the Philippine Coconut Board -- nothing about prejudice or prejudgment -- I am not comfortable with all the people in that agency, for historically it has also been plagued with corruption. So I have asked them to tender resignation as a matter of courtesy," he said.
"So when the time comes, and if I can get the mechanisms of how the money will be distributed to the beneficiaries, and if I look for somebody na talagang makita ko na ang pera ng Pilipino hindi mawawala (who I know would not pocket any single cent), it should be the retired General Kintanar," Duterte added.
Kintanar, named as PAF chief in 2017, was supposed to step down in January 2020 but opted for early retirement. (SunStar Philippines)