(Features) Piñol best fits as an agriculturist

COTABATO CITY -- He could wear many hats, but deep in his heart he is an agriculturist.The multi-talented Emmanuel Piñol, appointed agriculture secretary by President-elect Rodrigo R. Duterte, was born and raised in M’lang, a vast agricultural town in North Cotabato.Manny, as he is fondly called by friends, was born on December 16, 1953 in Barangay Bialong of the municipality, spending much of his childhood years playing and whiling away time in its rich, golden-colored rice fields.Being the second eldest in the brood of 11 siblings, all males, Manny learned the value of hard work at a young age to attain an education.Determined and focused, he ventured into various jobs, and his love for writing led him to work in various media entities.He joined the media industry as disc jockey for DXCM of the University of Mindanao in Cotabato City in 1976 and later with Church-run DXMS-AM where he was a newscaster-newswriter, doubling as public relations officer for radio up to 1978 in the National Grains Authority (NGA), the predecessor of the National Food Authority (NFA).Thereafter, he applied and landed a job as editor for the Philippines News Agency (PNA), the government’s news wire organization, from 1978-1982.He moved on to become a senior copy editor and sports columnist for Tempo and close-in writer for former Interior Sec. Rafael Alunan III then toPresident Fidel Ramos before becoming M’lang municipal mayor from 1995-1998.He entered politics by coincidence when his father, a former provincial board member, ran for mayor of M’lang. Due to sudden illness, Manny took over his father's candidacy and won.From mayor, he immediately tried the provincial governorship and won against former Rep. Gregorio Andolana. He completed a three-year term without defeat from 1998-2007, and slid down again as provincial vice-governor from 2007-2009.As an elected official, nothing is too late for him to get an education. In 2006, he graduated at the University of Southern Mindanao in Kabacan, North Cotabato, with a degree of BS Development Communication and further pursued his post graduate studies to earn a Masters of Science in Rural and Economic Development in 2008.When he vied for governorship against Governor Emmylou Mendoza in 2010, Manny encountered his first political defeat.Following his loss, he shied away from politics and concentrated on farming in his family’s agricultural land in Kidapawan City.Recently, he became prominent again after Duterte, a long-time friend, named him, among six other appointees, to head the Department of Agriculture (DA).During the campaign period for the 2016 elections, Manny authored and launched a book on agriculture program for Duterte, entitled Feeding Millionsand Duterte’s Food Security Blueprint.”His new appointment was welcomed by agriculture officials in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).The region’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Secretary Alexander Alonto Jr. stressed that Piñol, being a Mindanaoan, understands the predicament and other pressing concerns of farmers in the island-region such as delays in the release of budget for regional offices in Mindanao, among others. Among his many skills, Manny best fits as an agriculturist,” Alonto said.Many now see his appointment as appropriate and would benefit the plight of our country's farmers including in Mindanao which is considered as the country’s food basket supplying 40 percent of the Philippine food requirements, according to latest DA reports. (PNA)LAM/NYP