Progressive lawmakers on Monday, April 12, urged President Duterte to withdraw his decision to temporarily reduce import duties on pork to ensure the survival of the local hog industry.

House deputy minority leader and Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Isagani Zarate said thousands involved in the Philippine hog industry stand to lose their jobs due to the negative impact of Executive Order No. 128.

“Lahat ng mga hog raisers o magbababoy ay tutol sa EO 128 pero itinuloy pa din ng Malacañang. Bakit ba palaging ang default reaction ng Duterte administration, lalo na ng DA, ay palagi ang pag-iimport at hindi ang tulungang paunlarin ang mga magsasaka at local na producers ng ating bansa (All our hog raisers are opposed to EO 128 but Malacañang still pursued it. Why is it always the default reaction of the Duterte administration, especially by the Department of Agriculture, to always import instead of supporting its own farmers and local producers)?” Zarate asked in a statement.

“Tayo ang pinakamalaking importer ng bigas sa mundo, ngayon pati ba naman sa baboy at manok ay target din ng DA na tayo ang manguna? Habang naghihirap na nga ang mayorya ng nasa sektor ng agrikultura lalo lang silang binabaon ng pamahalaan sa hukay (We are the largest importer of rice in the world, does the DA also want to target the same thing with pork and chicken imports. While majority of those in the agriculture sector are already suffering, the government seems bent on burying them in the pit),” said the progressive solon.

Zarate said importation is supposed to be the government’s last resort in dealing with the rising prices.

“But now, it appears that Malacañang and the DA are walking upside down as it is itching to raise the MAV (minimum access volume) more than six times from 54,000 metric tons to 404,000 MT plus the lowering of its tariff—all without even seriously considering the stakeholders who would be severely affected by these massive importations,” he lamented.

“These recommendations from the ground are already known to the DA and Malacañang. Yet it appears now that they only have ears for the pro-importation groups,” he said.

“We will push for the immediate withdrawal to EO 128 and call on Congress to take a proactive action to save and protect our local hog raising sector,” he stressed.

ACT Teachers’ Representative France Castro also criticized the President’s signing of the EO, noting that Duterte took advantage of the congressional break to sign the order.

“Lowering tariff rates while increasing allowable volume of imported pork products is a death sentence to local producers and hog raisers. The increase in supply in pork does not even necessarily mean prices will go down for consumers,” Castro said in a separate statement.

Castro pointed out that local hog raisers have already been badly hit by the African Swine Fever (ASF) that the DA failed to address,

“EO 128 will destroy the industry and will not do anything to help the Filipino people,” she stressed.

“Like its handling with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Duterte administration continues to play deaf ears with the demands of local producers and farmers groups hardest hit by the ASF,” she pointed out.

Castro further pointed out that the Duterte administration’s knee-jerk reaction in many of its policies on health, economic, education crisis and food security is to “kill the livelihood of the people, neglect their legitimate demands for aid and comprehensive plans to be able to recover.”

“Instead of helping the people, its policies only cause more suffering to the Filipino people," she said.