Piñol: Less comments from me from now on

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 28) — Resigned Agriculture chief Manny Piñol said he would not offer any more comments on his offer to leave office.

In a post on social media Friday, Piñol said, "To my friends in the media, President Rody Duterte has described me as "just talkative," so there will be less audio coming from my side from now on."

"Also, to those who would like to set interviews with me to discuss my offer to resign which I submitted to the President through Senator Bong Go yesterday, I am sorry but I will not give any statement on the matter," he added.

Senator-elect Bong Go revealed Piñol submitted his resignation letter on Thursday.

Go said Piñol's resignation comes after some of the Cabinet members blamed the Agriculture chief for the rice shortage the Philippines experienced in 2018.

Piñol said it was with "the best interest of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and its stakeholders in mind."

Piñol recommended three Agriculture undersecretaries — Waldo Carpio, Ariel Cayanan, and Francisco Vilano — to take over for 30 days while Duterte decides on his replacement.

President Rodrigo Duterte, however, has not accepted Piñol's resignation, but confirmed he has asked Piñol to head the Mindanao Development Authority.

However, the President said he has not spoken with Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao interim Chief Minister Murad Ebrahim to seek his opinion on the new post being considered for Piñol.

Piñol said he was open to accepting a post in other agencies. In his post, Pinol called himself a "soldier of the President."

"I believe that a warrior does not choose the battle fields nor the battle. It is not the size of the battle field or the odds that matters but it is how you fight to win the battle. Until such time, the President decides on where to field me to wage another battle, I will continue my advocacies and work in the Department of Agriculture," he said.