(Eagle News) — Senator Ralph Recto on Thursday, Sept. 20, hailed President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to place the National Food Authority under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture anew, noting that this should have been done way earlier.
“Bringing the NFA under the control and direction of the DA Secretary is the right move. There should be no two separate orchestras, with a conductor each, when it comes to rice. Para isang kumpas, it should be one symphony under the baton of one conductor,” Recto said.
According to Recto, with the move, he hoped rice policies and programs would be “clear, cohesive and complementary” unlike before, when there were “policy incoherence and unsynchronized actions.”
Apart from the NFA, also returned under the jurisdiction of the DA were the Philippine Coconut Authority and the Fertilizer and Pesticides Authority, which had been placed under the Office of the President by then-President Benigno Aquino III.
The reorganization was made possible by Executive Order No. 62, which was signed by President Duterte on Sept. 17, and released by Malacañang on Wednesday.