The powerful bicameral Commission on Appointment approved the ad interim appointment of Agriculture Secretary William Dar.
CA’s Committee on Agriculture approved the recommendation on Dar’s ad interim appointment in a hearing on Tuesday.
President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Dar as acting secretary of the Department of Agriculture last August.
Dar was a former director-general of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics and acting Agriculture secretary of former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada.
Under questioning, Dar echoed the call of Senator Cynthia Villar that Filipinos should patronize other kinds of fish amid the rising price of round scad or galunggong.
“Huwag ka na muna bumili ng galunggong. Mayroong mas mura na available tulad ng bangus, tilapia,” said Dar.
“Let us not make galunggong the mainstay… There are other sources of protein," he added.
He said the DA has authorized the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to import 45,000 of fish last week, including galunggong.
“We have approved the importation of 45,000 metric tons of galunggong para maibaba ang presyo, but in the long term, huwag na tayong umasa sa galunggong lang,” Dar said.
However, he guaranteed the public that the supply of galunggong is expected to rise come harvest time in March next year.
“By harvest time, we will have more supply,” he added.
Dar, however, could not say if more supply would mean cheaper price for galunggong.