MANILA — Newly-appointed Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel Jr. on Monday acknowledged that bringing the price of rice down to P20 per kilo is "not possible today."

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"Twenty peso was an aspiration. Ang problem nasa 15-year high sa world market. Today, that is not possible. But, with yung directive ni Presidente, we are getting ready to do our best to make rice affordable," Laurel said during his first press conference.

In August, Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian said it was "hard" to attain President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s campaign promise to bring down rice prices.

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Laurel said on Monday that he is willing to work with current Department of Agriculture officials amid reports that he demanded the courtesy resignation of the current undersecretaries.

"We will have expert consultants at the beginning. I'd like to work with the current team, pero depending sa performance yan," he said.

The secretary also attended his first flag-raising ceremony with the department.

Laurel said he'll go around various bureaus under the agency.

"I'm just looking forward to working with everybody. In the coming days, dadaanan ko lahat ng opisina nyo para makilala ko kayo ng personal at makilala niyo ko," he told employees with a brief message.

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He said he accepted the post after being invited by the President himself, adding he hesitated to accept the position.

"Na-challenge ako to do something for our country," he said.

"Mahal ko ang bansa natin eh," Laurel said.

Laurel's appointment was announced by Marcos last Friday.

He used to own food conglomerate Frabelle Corp., and was also one of the top donors to Marcos' presidential campaign.