According to Rommel Lopez’s post on his X Account, formerly on Twitter, it is alleged that the appointed Department of Agriculture Secretary, Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., donated an amount of P58 million to the Federal Party of the Philippines, which is the political party of President Ferdinand BongBong Marcos Jr.
Who is Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.? Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. is a fishing tycoon who was recently appointed as the new Secretary of Agriculture in the Philippines by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. He is the president of Frabelle Fishing Corporation, which is involved in deep-sea fishing, aquaculture, food manufacturing, importation, trading, and cold storage.
Laurel was born in 1966 to Francis and Bella Tiu-Laurel, who established Frabelle as a small trawl fishing company in the Philippines. He has helped lead the company to expand its operations into the Western and Central Pacific regions, where a large share of the world’s tuna can be found. He is also the chairman of the World Tuna Purse Seine Organization.
Before he was appointed the Secretary of Agriculture, Laurel was already a member of the government’s Private Sector Advisory Council.
In short, as reported in social media, he is a business tycoon with the capacity to donate the mentioned amount for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s campaign funds. Just like the post on social media, it appears that he has a strong connection with President Marcos, and this could be seen as a form of political patronage, which is a common occurrence in politics.
Given his background as Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., where his business in the fishing sector has flourished, he can contribute significantly to improving the livelihood of fishermen. This experience can also be applied to other sectors under the Department of Agriculture. Hopefully, he can address the issues of high agricultural product prices, especially the shortage of fish and rice supply, where prices have risen significantly. This aligns with the promise made by Marcos during his campaign to lower rice prices to 20 pesos per kilo.
Sana all ganun kadaling mag donate ng P58 million. pic.twitter.com/uR7SkPCECr
— Rommel Lopez (@RommelFLopez) November 3, 2023