Bantay Palengke, an advocacy network focused on food and household goods, today welcomed the appointment of Francis Tiu Laurel Jr. as the new secretary of the Department of Agriculture.
According to Bantay Palengke Convenor Lester Codog, “The appointment of a full-time agriculture secretary is a welcome development as food inflation remains a top concern for a majority of Filipinos. It is about time that someone is assigned to focus on food and agricultural issues.”
Codog explained that while some commodities such as onion have seen decreasing prices in the past few weeks, most prices of basic goods remain higher than usual such as rice, egg, and vegetables.
“We are willing to work with Secretary Laurel to protect consumer welfare. We are hoping he will resolve price issues that bother our people’s pockets. We are looking forward to him being able to dismantle price cartels that result in price spikes in various agricultural products,” Codog added.
