Ex-Erap official is new DA chief

President Arroyo has named a former official of the Estrada administration to replace Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, who resigned last week to shield the administration from political fallout while he defends himself from tax evasion charges.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said farmer-sportsman Domingo Panganiban, who served as acting agriculture secretary of Joseph Estrada during his short-lived presidency, would assume the post on July 15.

Yap resigned last Thursday, shortly after he and his father were charged with tax evasion by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). He said he decided to quit to dispel suspicions of a whitewash in the investigation of the tax evasion case against him.

Panganiban was agriculture secretary for just over two weeks, succeeding Sen. Edgardo Angara on Jan. 8, during the last days of the Estrada administration.

A native of Tanauan City in Batangas, Panganiban is reportedly the first agriculture secretary who actually has a degree in agriculture. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños (UPLB) and majored in agronomy and plant protection. He also holds a master’s degree in public administration.

Panganiban joined the Department of Agriculture (DA) in 1961, where he rose to the rank of undersecretary, a post he held for 10 years.

He also served as director of both the Bureau of Plant Industry and Bureau of Agricultural Extension, and as executive director of the National Food and Agriculture Council in the 1970s.

During the Marcos regime, Panganiban was chief implementor of the "Masagana 99" rice production program when the late Arturo "Bong" Tanco was agriculture minister.

In the 1990s, Panganiban also served as head coach of the Purefoods basketball team in the pro league Philippine Basketball Association during the prime of its star players Alvin Patrimonio and Jerry Codiñera.

After leaving the DA in 2001, he engaged in consultancy work with various international bodies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Panganiban also had stints with private groups in Bangkok, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Panganiban is a recipient of the Presidential Golden Plow Award and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the UPLB College of Agriculture Alumni Association for his work on various programs and their successful implementation.

His other honors include the Ten Outstanding Young Men Award, PCARR Pantas Award, Budiras Award, Lingkod Bayan Award and some achievement awards. Panganiban is married to Madelina Yambao from Jaen, Nueva Ecija. — Paolo Romero