Importation should be last resort, Zubiri tells DA
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri scored the Department of Agriculture (DA) for pushing through with its proposal to open up pork importation following the outbreak of the African swine fever (ASF).
During the Senate Committee of the Whole's inquiry Monday, April 12, on the country's food security situation due to the ASF and the government's decision to lower pork import tariffs, Zubiri lamented the "unabated" importation in the Philippines to the detriment of the local hog industry.
"Apat na administration na po ang napagdaanan ko, at nakita ko po na laging policy ng DA na mag-import. Basta nagka-problema sa presyo, import kaagad ang sagot ng DA. Hindi dapat iyan ang sagot. Dapat ang sagot ng DA: ‘Sandali, dapat tulungan natin ang mga magsasaka natin kaysa mga magsasaka ng ibang bansa' (I have served under four administrations, and I observed that the policy of the DA is always to import. That every time there is a problem on prices, importation is the DA's immediate response. But it should not be the answer. The DA should be saying: 'Wait, we should help our own farmers before helping farmers in other countries)," he said, citing as models Thailand and Vietnam for prioritizing their local agriculture.
"Policy-wise, importation should be the last resort of the DA," he pointed out.
As recommended by the DA to address the shortage in pork supply and spike in prices, President Duterte signed last week the Executive Order (EO) No. 128, which reduces tariffs for in-quota pork imports from 30 percent to 5 percent and out-quota imports from 40 percent to 15 percent.
Duterte also supported the agency's proposal to increase the minimum access volume (MAV) for imported pork by 350,000 metric tons.
Senator Panfilo Lacson, during the same hearing, also hit the DA's "penchant" for impn, saying the reduced tariffs will lead to about P3.6 billion in lost government revenues, aside from "beating to death" the local swine industry.
"The joke among local farmers and cooperatives is that the DA should be renamed as the 'Department of Importation'," Zubiri said later.
He recalled that as early as March, 2019, he had already warned DA about the ASF and recommended a ban on pork imports not only from ASF-hit countries, but also their neighboring countries.
“Pero nakapasok pa rin ang ASF dahil sa (But the ASF managed to enter the country because of) importation and smuggling, and now farmers in Luzon are totally devastated. I know people who are down to zero hogs on their farms now," he lamented.
Zubiri also cited reports that prices of imported pork have been increased, warning the DA that foreign pork producers could take advantage of the reduced taxes in the country.
Like his colleagues, Zubiri called for the recall of the EO No. 128.