The Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization (PAFSAM) was a Cabinet-level position under the Office of the President of the Philippines.
The post of PAFSAM was created amidst accusations of DA involvement in the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam.
[1] Agencies under the DA had allegedly used PDAF monies to make payments to NGOs with links to Janet Lim-Napoles; in Congressional testimony, she provided a list of names of people involved in the scam.
[3] The transferred agencies represented three-quarters of the DA's P68.59 billion budget, leading the Manila Standard Today to describe the situation as Alcala "los[ing] Agri control" and being "reduced to a mere titular head".
Opposition politicians including Jonathan dela Cruz of Abakada were dissatisfied with the mere reduction in Alcala's powers, and continued to call for President Aquino to dismiss him.