November 7th, 2023
I welcome the appointment of a new DA chief in Secretary Frankie Tiu-Laurel, whose family is an old friend of mine from my days in the financing sector. The appointment bodes well for fighting inflation.
The Tiu-Laurels were among the first to be very aggressive with capital investments in the agriculture and fisheries sector. As a young financing manager back then, I helped finance their massive fleet expansion. The Secretary knows very well that food and agricultural expansion require investment, modernization, and above all, private sector initiative. I thus expect a very strong shift in this direction when it comes to agricultural policy. Meeting our food needs require scale that only large private investors with accompanying know-how can finance.
Secretary Tiu-Laurel also has a strong handle on the intersection of food and energy, two key drivers of inflation.
I congratulate him on his appointment and look forward to helping him meet his marching orders from our President.