Secretary of Agriculture (Philippines)

The secretary of agriculture (Filipino: Kalihim ng Pagsasaka) is the member of the Cabinet of the Philippines in charge of the Department of Agriculture.

Secretary of Agriculture
Official seal of the Department of Agriculture
Incumbent Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. since November 3, 2023
Style	The Honorable
Appointer	The President with the consent of Commission on Appointments
Term length	No fixed term
Inaugural holder	Jose Alejandrino
Formation	June 23, 1898
Website	http://www.da.gov.ph

Functions

The following are the functions of the secretary of agriculture:^[1]

• Advise the president on the promulgation of rules, regulations and other issuances relative to agriculture and fishery;
• Establish policies and standards for the efficient and effective operations of the department in accordance with the programs of the government.
• Promulgate rules, regulations and other issuances necessary in carrying out the department's mandate, objectives, policies, plans, programs, and projects;
• Exercise supervision and control over all functions and activities of the department;
• Delegate authority for the performance of any administrative or substantive function to any undersecretary or other officers of rank at the department proper;
• Perform other functions as may be provided by law or assigned appropriately by the president.

List

1898–1899

No.	Portrait	Secretary	Took office	Left office	President
Secretary of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce
1		José Alejandrino (1870–1951)	June 23, 1898	January 21, 1899	Emilio Aguinaldo
Secretary of Welfare[a]
2		Gracio Gonzaga	January 21, 1899	May 7, 1899	Emilio Aguinaldo
Secretary of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce
3		León María Guerrero (1853–1935)	May 7, 1899	November 13, 1899	Emilio Aguinaldo

1917–1935

No.	Portrait	Secretary	Took office	Left office	Governor-General
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources[2]
4		Galicano Apacible (1864–1949) [3][4]	January 11, 1917	October 31, 1921	Francis Burton Harrison
					Charles Yeater
					Leonard Wood
5		Rafael Corpus (1880–1960) [4][5]	November 2, 1921	July 17, 1923
–[b]		Silverio Apostol [6]	July 18, 1923	September 6, 1928
					Eugene Allen Gilmore
					Henry L. Stimson
6		Rafael Alunan [7]	September 6, 1928	January 1, 1933
					Eugene Allen Gilmore
					Dwight F. Davis
					George C. Butte
					Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce[8]
(6)		Vicente Singson Encarnacion (1875–1961)	January 1, 1933	July 26, 1934	Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
					Frank Murphy
7		Eulogio Rodriguez (1883–1964)	July 26, 1934	November 15, 1935

1935–present

No.	Portrait	Secretary	Took office	Left office	President
Secretary of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce
(7)		Eulogio Rodriguez (1883–1964) [9]	November 15, 1935	November 15, 1938	Manuel L. Quezon
10		Benigno Aquino Sr. (1894–1947) [9]	December 1, 1938	August 28, 1941
(5)		Rafael Alunan [10]	August 28, 1941	December 24, 1941
Secretary of Finance, Agriculture and Commerce[11]
11		José Abad Santos (1886–1942) [12]	December 24, 1941	March 26, 1942	Manuel L. Quezon
12		Andrés Soriano (1898–1964) [12]	March 26, 1942	July 31, 1944
Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce
(5)		Rafael Alunan [13]	January 26, 1942	October 14, 1943	Jorge B. Vargas[c]
Minister of Agriculture and Commerce
(5)		Rafael Alunan [14]	October 19, 1943	March 20, 1945	Jose P. Laurel
Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce[15]
13		Manuel Nieto (1892–1970)	August 8, 1944	February 27, 1945	Sergio Osmeña
14		Delfín Jaranilla (1883–1980)	February 27, 1945	July 12, 1945
(6)		Vicente Singson Encarnacion (1875–1961) [16]	July 12, 1945	May 28, 1946
15		Mariano Garchitorena (1898–1961) [17]	May 28, 1946	July 1, 1947	Manuel Roxas
Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources[18]
(15)		Mariano Garchitorena (1898–1961)	July 1, 1947	September 1, 1948	Manuel Roxas
					Elpidio Quirino
16		Placido Mapa [19]	September 21, 1948	September 14, 1950
17[d]		Fernando Lopez (1904–1993) [19][20][21]	September 14, 1950	May 26, 1953
–[b]		Placido Mapa [22]	May 26, 1953	December 29, 1953
18		Salvador Araneta (1902–1982) [23]	March 10, 1954	August 13, 1955	Ramon Magsaysay
19		Juan Rodriguez	August 18, 1954	March 3, 1960
					Carlos P. Garcia
20		Cesar Fortich	March 3, 1960	September 15, 1961
–[b]		Jose Locsin (1891–1977)	September 15, 1961	December 30, 1961
21		Benjamin Gozon	1962	1963	Diosdado Macapagal
22		Jose Feliciano	1963	1965
(17)[d]		Fernando Lopez (1904–1993) [24]	December 30, 1965	January 15, 1971	Ferdinand Marcos
23		Arturo Tanco Jr. [24]	January 15, 1971	May 17, 1974
Secretary of Agriculture[25]
(23)		Arturo Tanco Jr.	May 17, 1974	June 2, 1978	Ferdinand Marcos
Minister of Agriculture[26]
(23)		Arturo Tanco Jr.	June 2, 1978	June 27, 1984	Ferdinand Marcos
Minister of Agriculture and Food[27]
24		Salvador Escudero (1942–2012)	June 30, 1984	February 25, 1986	Ferdinand Marcos
25		Ramon Mitra Jr. (1928–2000)	February 25, 1986	January 30, 1987	Corazon Aquino
Minister of Agriculture[1]
(25)		Ramon Mitra Jr. (1928–2000)	January 30, 1987	February 11, 1987	Corazon Aquino
Secretary of Agriculture[28]
(25)		Ramon Mitra Jr. (1928–2000)	February 11, 1987	March 9, 1987	Corazon Aquino
26		Carlos Dominguez III (born 1945)	March 9, 1987	December 31, 1989
27		Senen Bacani	January 1, 1990	June 30, 1992
28		Roberto Sebastian (1944–2012)	June 30, 1992	January 31, 1996	Fidel V. Ramos
(24)		Salvador Escudero (1942–2012)	February 1, 1996	June 30, 1998
–[b]		William Dar (born 1953)	June 30, 1998	May 24, 1999	Joseph Estrada
29		Edgardo Angara (1934–2018)	May 25, 1999	January 6, 2001
30		Domingo F. Panganiban (born 1939)	January 8, 2001	March 31, 2001
					Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
31		Leonardo Montemayor	March 31, 2001	December 8, 2002
32		Luis Lorenzo Jr.	December 9, 2002	August 15, 2004
33		Arthur C. Yap (born 1965) [29]	August 23, 2004	July 15, 2005
(30)		Domingo F. Panganiban (born 1939)	July 16, 2005	October 22, 2006
(33)		Arthur C. Yap (born 1965) [30]	October 25, 2006	February 24, 2010
–[b]		Bernie Fondevilla [31]	March 1, 2010	March 8, 2010
34			March 8, 2010	June 30, 2010
35		Proceso Alcala (born 1955) [32]	June 30, 2010	June 30, 2016	Benigno Aquino III
36		Emmanuel Piñol (born 1953) [33][34]	June 30, 2016	August 5, 2019	Rodrigo Duterte
37		William Dar (born 1953) [35]	August 5, 2019	June 30, 2022
38[e]		Bongbong Marcos (born 1957)	June 30, 2022	November 3, 2023	Bongbong Marcos
39		Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. (born 1966/1967)	November 3, 2023	Incumbent

Notes

1. The Department of Welfare was responsible for agriculture from January 21 until May 7, 1899.
2. Acting secretary.
3. As Chairman of the Philippine Executive Commission.
4. In concurrent capacity as Vice President.
5. In concurrent capacity as President.

References

1. "Executive Order No. 116, s. 1987". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
2. "Act No. 2666. - AN ACT TO REORGANIZE THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS". Supreme Court E-Library.
3. Official Gazette Vol. XV, No. 4. Reporter of the Supreme Court. 1917. p. 151.
4. Report of the Governor General Philippine Islands: Message from the President of the United States Transmitting Report of the Governor General of the Philippine Islands, Together with Reports of the Heads of the Departments of the Philippine Government, for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 1920. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1923. p. 163.
5. Annual Report of the Governor General Philippine Islands, 1923. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1925. p. 35.
6. Annual Report of the Governor General Philippine Islands, 1923. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1925. p. 181.
7. Annual Report of the Governor General Philippine Islands 1928. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1930. p. 175.
8. "Act No. 4007". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
9. Third Annual Report of the United States High Commissioner to the Philippine Islands to the President and Congress of the United States. Government Printing Office. 1943. p. 33.
10. "Appointments and Designations: August 30, 1941". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
11. "Executive Order No. 396, s. 1941". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
12. The Sixth Annual Report of the United States High Commissioner to the Philippine Islands to the President and Congress of the United States Covering the Fiscal Year July 1, 1941 to June 30, 1942. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1943. p. 79.
13. Official Gazette Vol. 1, No. 1. Manila: Bureau of Printing. 1942. p. 15.
14. Official Gazette Vol. 1, No. 1. Manila: Bureau of Printing. 1943. p. 29.
15. "Executive Order No. 15-W, s. 1944". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
16. "Appointments and Designations: July, 1945". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
17. "Appointments and Designations: May, 1946". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
18. "Executive Order No. 94, s. 1947". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
19. Preston, Paul; Partride, Michael; Best, Anthony, eds. (2000). British Documents on Foreign Affairs: Reports and Papers from the Foreign Office Confidential Print. Part IV, From 1946 through 1950, Series E, Asia, 1950. Vol. 11. University Publications of America. p. 308.
20. "Appointments and Designations: December, 1950". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
21. Preston, Paul; Partride, Michael; Best, Anthony, eds. (2000). British Documents on Foreign Affairs: Reports and Papers from the Foreign Office Confidential Print. Part V, From 1951 through 1956, Series E, Asia, 1954. Vol. 7. University Publications of America. p. 526.
22. Preston, Paul; Partride, Michael; Best, Anthony, eds. (2000). British Documents on Foreign Affairs: Reports and Papers from the Foreign Office Confidential Print. Part V, From 1951 through 1956, Series E, Asia, 1954. Vol. 7. University Publications of America. pp. 526–527.
23. "Appointments and Designations: March, 1954". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
24. "Vice President Quits Manila Cabinet Post". The New York Times. 15 January 1971.
25. "Presidential Decree No. 461, s. 1974". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
26. "Presidential Decree No. 1397, s. 1978". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
27. "Executive Order No. 967, s. 1984". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
28. "Administrative Order No. 15, s. 1987". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines.
29. "Yap resigns as DA chief". Philstar.com. 2005-07-01. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
30. "Philippines Agricultural Situation DA Leadership Change 2006". USDA Foreign Agricultural Service.
31. "Palace assures continuity as PGMA swears in new Cabinet members". Balita.ph. 2010-03-08. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
32. "Benigno S. Aquino III". Presidential Museum and Library. Archived from the original on July 6, 2016. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
33. Viray, Patricia Lourdes (June 30, 2016). "Duterte's Cabinet takes oath, holds first meeting". The Philippine Star. Archived from the original on July 1, 2016.
34. Parrocha, Azer (June 27, 2019). "Piñol resigns as agriculture secretary". Philippine News Agency. Archived from the original on June 29, 2019.
35. "Duterte appoints William Dar to replace Piñol as Agriculture Secretary". CNN Philippines. August 5, 2019. Archived from the original on August 5, 2019.

External links

• History of the Department of Agriculture: 'DA Then and Now'