Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 21) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he wants an agriculture expert to take over the Department of Agriculture (DA) and not a retired military or police official, given the complexity of the position.
“Agriculture is a very complicated subject,” Marcos, who is concurrently the agriculture secretary, told Manila-based reporters in Davos before returning home from Switzerland.
He continued: “Hindi lang kung sino-sino basta’t magaling mag-manager [It should not be just someone who’s good on being a manager]. They have to understand the science…They also have to understand the system. So it’s no.”
Marcos said the position was not a “right place” for a military man to go to, but he said: “Unless, they’re involved in agriculture…baka marunong na talaga sila [maybe they really have the knowledge], why not.”
The chief executive also said he will step down once the DA has ticked off items in its “bucket list,” noting that the administration is currently doing “all the hard things” while he still leads the agency.
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In October last year, Marcos — who has been repeatedly asked by critics to leave the post — said he will only step down once “structural changes” have been made in the agency.
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