A FORMER military man may be tapped to lead the Department of Agriculture (DA), President Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday, July 17.
Duterte said he is mulling over the possibility of appointing a former soldier as a replacement of resigned Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol, who will be reassigned as his "point man" in Bangsamoro region.
"[I am] scouting around. I assume maybe again, a military man," the President said in a television interview, when asked who will take the place of Piñol at the DA.
"Kasi madali mag-utos, magtrabaho (Because a military man follows order and does their job. And they do it without a question," he added.
On July 7, Duterte announced that Murad Ebrahim, interim chief of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm), has already agreed with the appointment of Piñol as his "point man" in the Bangsamoro region.
It was also on July 7 when the President confirmed he already reassigned Piñol as the head of Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA).
Duterte, in his latest remarks, maintained that Piñol is the most qualified person to lead MinDA.
"Ang problema, ako, kasi wala akong tao (The problem is I have no point man) since the [creation of] Barmm. There is nobody on my side dito (here), talking to the Barmm to make the necessary arrangements for this entity to grow and their needs," he said.
"It's Piñol who's moving to another entity. Piñol is a very good Cabinet member," he added. (SunStar Philippines)