Press Release
March 24, 2017

RESPONSE OF FORMER OPAFSAM SECRETARY SEN. PANGILINAN ON RIFT BETWEEN SUSPENDED P.C.A. CHIEF ANDAL, CABINET SECRETARY EVASCO

Blaming the Liberal Party for their own internal conflict concerning serious accusations of corruption has become the easy recourse of top government officials.

Sagutin nila ang mga paratang sa halip na maghanap ng sisisihin kahit walang basehan.

Let's give credit where credit is due. The rift between the Philippine Coconut Authority and the Office of the Cabinet Secretary lies entirely at the administration's doorstep. All the protagonists in this story -- suspended PCA administrator Avelino Andal, Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco, and CabSec Undersecretary Halmen Valdez -- are President Duterte's appointees.

As former Secretary of the Office of the Presidential Assistant on Food Security and Agricultural Modernization and concurrent head of the PCA board, I'm curious: What is behind the rift?

Now at the Senate, we are pushing for correcting the social injustice our coconut farmers have suffered and continue to suffer from government negligence and abuse. Now we work to enact the coco levy fund trust law involving at least P100 billion to benefit our coconut farmers. As their advocate, we ask: What are the bases for the serious accusations of corruption Andal and Evasco are throwing at each other?

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