Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said Thursday he had volunteered to submit himself to a lifestyle check to erase doubts he is involved in financial transactions in the importation of rice after he was named head of the National Food Authority.
Piñol became chairman of the NFA Council after President Rodrigo Duterte issued Executive Order 62, which returned the agency to the Department of Agriculture from the Office of the President.
“Since the transfer of the NFA to the DA, I have observed a pattern of media stories apparently insinuating that there are financial transaction of rice importation that I am involved with,” Piñol told reporters.
Because of the allegations, Piñol said, he would submit himself to a lifestyle check to be conducted by the PACC effective immediately.
“I don’t live a lavish lifestyle, I don’t go to casinos, I have stopped drinking and smoking,” Piñol said.
PACC chairman Dante Jimenez welcomed Piñol’s decision and called on all other presidential appointees to undergo the same scrutiny.
Jimenez said the commission had jurisdiction over presidential appointees nationwide.
“This will ensure the smooth implementation of the anti-corruption campaign of the Duterte administration,” he said.
Duterte created the PACC through Executive Order 43 that he signed on Oct. 4, 2017, to aid him in curbing corruption in the Executive department.
READ: Pangilinan warns to defer approval of NFA budget due to ‘corruption’
READ: Food agency intensifies palay buying operations