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'A sound proposal': Diokno agrees Balisacan fit for agri chief post

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan speaks during an interview at Vertis North Corporate Center in Quezon City on April 10, 2019. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File " src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/09/11/20190410-arsenio-balisacan-jc-0405.jpg"/><figcaption>NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan speaks during an interview at Vertis North Corporate Center in Quezon City on April 10, 2019. <em>Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File </em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA — Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said a suggestion to appoint National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan as the chief of the Department of Agriculture is a &quot;sound proposal.&quot;</p><p>President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is concurrently acting as the DA Secretary but critics have said there should be someone at the helm of the agency to focus on addressing persistent issues such as high prices of select food items that are driving inflation upwards.</p><p>During his weekly chat with members of the media, Diokno was asked about the proposal to name Balisacan as the DA Secretary.</p><p>&quot;That&#x27;s a sound proposal. He has heard it many times,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;At tsaka si Arsi talaga yung ano niya ang undergrad niya ay Agriculture Economics,&quot; he added.</p><p>In a separate interview, economist Cielito Habito said he personally believes Balisacan &quot;is a good choice.&quot;</p><p>&quot;I know his capability. He has served as undersecretary of the Department of Agriculture and he knows what the problems in agriculture are. He is also regarded as perhaps the foremost expert in the country on rural poverty and poverty in general, so he knows what needs to be done,&quot; he said. </p><p>&quot;Of course, he&#x27;s an economist so he knows the right economics that should go behind policy-making and agriculture,&quot; he added.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/06/30/22/nedas-balisacan-second-time-around">Incoming NEDA chief Balisacan: Second time around</a></li></ul><p>Balisacan is a two-time NEDA Secretary having served as director-general under former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III from 2012 to 2016 and again under the Marcos administration.</p><p>He was also an agriculture undersecretary during the Estrada administration. Balisacan was also the former chair of the Philippine Competition Commission, where he was tasked to monitor the competition in the different sectors of the economy. </p><div><strong>— With a report from Andrea Taguines, ABS-CBN News</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2799132" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Finance Sec. Diokno said the suggestion to appoint NEDA Sec. Balisacan as the chief of the Department of Agriculture is a 'sound proposal.' 