May pahayag si Incoming Agriculture chief Manny Piñol sa National Irrigation Authority (NIA) dahil sa pag question nito sa commitment ni Incoming President elect Rodrigo Duterte na mabigyan ang mga farmers ng free irrigation.
Sa facebook post ni Manny Piñol he criticized NIA statement that said “Duterte’s promise of free irrigation water for the farmers would adversely affect the operations of the agency.”
Piñol wrote: “Anybody in government who does not share President Duterte’s vision for the Filipino farmer is free to leave and find another job,”
“There is something wrong with the way NIA is being managed right now. Many of its top officials may have forgotten that the reason why there is a NIA is because government would like to produce food for the Filipino people by providing irrigation,”
Dagdag pa niya na ang commitment ni President Elect Rodrigo Duterte na libring irrigasyon ay hindi negotiable.
May proposal rin si Piñol sa incoming president na ang NIA ay dapat maibalik under the supervision of the DA.
Piñol said: “It is a vital agency in agriculture dahil hindi pwede ihiwalay ang patubig sa pagtatanim,”
Naniniwala si Piñol na ma approbahan ng Incomiing President ang kanyang proposal sapagkat pinakiusapan na sya nito na sumulat ng memorandum hinggil sa issue.
Para sa NIA officials if magpatuloy ang pag against sa Duterte’s irrigation policies, Piñol said: “I will place a big garbage can in front of my office on July 1. You could throw in your resignation letters in that trash can and leave government.”