Leyte Fourth District Representative Richard Gomez is proposing that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should at least appoint an officer-in-charge, or someone who will stand and do the work for him in the Department of Agriculture, the agency he temporarily heads.

"Just OIC. And that OIC will report intensively to the President," Gomez told reporters in an interview during the celebration of Ormoc City's 75th Anniversary.

"In the DA, there are many sub-agencies that should be focused on everyday. It's really difficult. As much as the President wants to make it a job, he can't handle it," he added.

The lawmaker explained that there is a lot of decision-making that needs to be done in the DA and the secretary really needs to be there on a regular basis.

Knowing that the Chief Executive is busy with appointments in Malacañang, the former Ormoc mayor expressed hope that Marcos would appoint a full-time DA secretary within the next few weeks.

However, no less than the President himself affirmed on Thursday that he would continue in his position as the DA secretary since there are some matters that the President can only handle, particularly in light of the agency's long-standing problems.

Marcos made the remark amid mounting calls from lawmakers for a permanent DA chief replacement.