Acting Agriculture Secretary John Castriciones faces mounting opposition to his confirmation at the Senate’s Commission on Appointments.
Senator Grace Poe, chairman of the Committee on Agrarian Reform who set the confirmation hearings of Castriciones on May 29 and 30, 2018 received more opposition papers and requests to speak as resource persons at the CA Committee.
Department of Agrarian Reform Employees Association national president Antonia Pascual submitted their opposition to the confirmation and requested to appear before the Poe committee and present a series of corrupt and anti-labor practices, acts of oppression and suppression of freedom of expression of DAR employees.
Federation of Free Farmers, founded in 1953 by 1987 Constitutional Convention Delegate Jeremias Montemayor, an agrarian reform advocate, and the biggest organization of farmers and agrarian reform beneficiaries in the country represented by its Chairman Leonardo Q. Montemayor has presented its own opposition paper and requested the appearance as resource person at the Commission on Appointments.
Leonardo Q. Montemayor, former chairman of the Committee on Agrarian Reform and a four-term Congressman in the House of Representatives representing the farming sector cited in his opposition Section 50, of RA 6389, an Act creating the Department of Agrarian Reform, “No person shall be appointed Secretary or Undersecretary unless he is a natural born citizen of the Philippines with proven executive ability and adequate background and experience in land reform here and/or elsewhere for at least (5) years . . .”
Meanwhile, Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees has also submitted its opposition paper and likewise requested that it be given time and opportunity to speak on their position at the Commission on Appointments.
COURAGE national president Ferdinand R. Gaite accused Castriciones of harassment of Union Officers and DAR employees and suppression of basic right to express their grievances and active interventions in the affairs of the Union in violations of labor laws.