DA chief Piñol offers to resign; says he is open to lead MinDA

Updated (10:15 p.m.)

MANILA, Philippines — Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol has offered to resign amid reports that President Rodrigo Duterte is unsatisfied with his performance.

Former presidential aide and now Senator-elect Bong Go announced this in an interview in Malacañang on Thursday.

“Meron pong liham si Secretary Piñol addressed to Pangulong Duterte. I was informed also naka-CC po ako doon. Pinabasa ko po kay Pangulong Duterte bago po siya pumunta dito,” Go said.

(Secretary Piñol has a letter of resignation addressed to President Duterte. I was informed because I was CC’d in the document. I asked the President to read it before I came here.)

Piñol’s resignation came on the heels of reports that Duterte is studying the performances of his Cabinet as part of his midterm assessment.

READ: Midterm assessment: Duterte mulls minor Cabinet changes

Duterte was reportedly eyeing to transfer Piñol to the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), which is currently headed by lawyer Nathaniel Dalumpines in an acting capacity.

In an interview, the President explained that the move to transfer Piñol to MinDA has nothing to do with his performance at the DA. He said he needed someone who knows Mindanao, especially the newly created Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), to help him man the region.

“I cannot see anybody (on) the horizon except Piñol who knows and grew up in Mindanao. He’s a farmer and (former) governor, so sabi ko kailangan ko ng magtitimon (sa BARMM) and that MinDA position is a Cabinet position. Sabi ko pumunta ka na lang doon tulungan mo na lang ako (I told him to go there and help me),” Duterte said.

“Get them started, hurry up, hurry them up so that they will have a first regular organized government that they have long wished for,” he added.

However, Duterte said he has yet to accept Piñol’s resignation as he needed to talk to BARMM Interim Chief Minister Al Hajj Murad Ebrahim.

In his letter to Duterte, Piñol expressed openness to lead MinDA. He also recommended three Agriculture undersecretaries to temporarily head the department — Undersecretary Waldo Carpio, Undersecretary Ariel Cayanan, and Undersecretary Francisco Villano. (Editor: Eden Estopace)