There is no certainty yet on the transfer of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol to the Mindanao Development Authority, the Palace said on Tuesday.
In a Palace press briefing, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the DA chief’s reassignment to be the government’s representative in the MinDA has not been finalized.
Panelo said, recalling the instruction of the President, Piñol’s transfer lay with the decision of Moro Islamic Liberation Front chief Al-Hajj Ebrahim Murad and other Bangsamoro officials.
Asked if it is still subject to the approval of the MILF chief, Panelo said: “Yes, that’s what the President said. It came from him.”
Almost two weeks ago, the President previously said he was considering Piñol as the new head of MinDA, replacing the late Datu Abul Khayr Dangcal Alonto who passed away last month.
According to him, he expects the Agriculture chief, a farmer and a former governor, to help the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to “have a first regular organized government that they have long wished for.”
“The problem is I have yet to see Murad and all officials of the BARMM,” Duterte said, clearing Piñol of corruption allegations.
Meanwhile, some Moro leaders are wary of Duterte’s plan to make the embattled Agriculture chief as the government’s “point man” in the BARMM, recalling the role Piñol played in the junking of the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD) in 2008.
“[T]he reality is Manny Piñol is not popular among the Bangsamoro people, having been known in the past as principally and vocally against the struggle of the Bangsamoro,” Murad said in a text message.
“This was further aggravated when he [Piñol] spearheaded the petition in the Supreme Court against the MOA-AD that would have been the first framework agreement to be signed between the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) and the government before it was struck down as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court,” he added.
For his part, Drieza Lininding, chairman of the Marawi-based Moro Consensus Group, said Piñol is not welcome among the Moro people.
Marawi civic leader Samira Gutoc-Tomawis also urged the President to reconsider his decision, saying Piñol is perceived by many Moro communities as anti-Moro.
Asked if the Palace will take into consideration the comments of the Moro people, Panelo said yes.
“I supposed the President will always take any factor being introduced by concerned players in that region. Of course, the President considers everything,” he said.
“Anything is possible. Duterte can change the mind of Mr. Murad. Or the President can replace Secretary Piñol,” he added. “Let’s see how it evolves.”