THE COMMISSION on Appointments (CA) confirmed on Tuesday the appointments of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Pe Tiu Laurel and Health Secretary Teodoro J. Herbosa.
At a hearing on his nomination, Mr. Laurel said he would focus on consulting biologists, data scientists and academics to help the Department of Agriculture (DA) come up with ways to boost production in livestock, rice, poultry and other high-value crops.
He also vowed to tap national and international law enforcers to deal with food hoarders, price manipulators and smugglers.
On the other hand, Mr. Herbosa said the Department of Health (DoH) would look into fraudulent claims in the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth).
He also targets to release within the next three years the remaining P62 billion in coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) emergency allowances for healthcare workers. — John Victor D. Ordoñez