Southerners welcome appointment of new agri secretary

COTABATO CITY — Southerners on Monday gave the newly-appointed agriculture secretary a vote of confidence, certain he will complement their efforts to empower the agriculture and fishery sectors in the six Bangsamoro provinces and administrative regions around. 

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. as secretary of the Department of Agriculture last Friday.

Two members of the 80-seat Bangsamoro regional parliament, the lawyer Hadji Nabil Tan and the physician-ophthalmologist Kadil Sinolinding, Jr., separately told reporters Monday that they are certain that Laurel will be an efficient conduit of Malacañang to the fishery and agriculture sectors in the autonomous region.

Tan and Sinolinding are popular for their being consistent endorsers of bills in the regional parliament that aims to boost the productivity of both sectors and establish service facets to ensure cohesion among underprivileged farmers and fisherfolk and BARMM agencies.

“We are convinced that Secretary Laurel will open widely to Bangsamoro residents the door to his office. While we now have regional autonomy and an agriculture ministry, we still need to remain connected with the central office of the Department of Agriculture,” Sinolinding said.

BARMM's regional planners and researchers said that at least 75% of the residents in the six BARMM provinces, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, rely mainly on farming and fishing to generate income needed to sustain their families. 

Tan said he is optimistic that Laurel will support the efforts of BARMM’s agriculture, social welfare and local government ministries and the provincial government of Sulu to reintegrate into mainstream society hundreds of former members of the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group who have surrendered in recent years.

“Many of them have been reintroduced to the local communities and they need continuing interventions that can make them become productive farmers. They must feel that being productive law abiding citizens is far better from being enemies of the state,” Tan, who hails from Maimbung town in Sulu, said.

Basilan Gov. Jim Salliman and his