Duterte to withdraw pork import tax slash

The debate right now is whether or not tariffs should be reduced further. They do not understand why there is a need to reduce it when the prices of pork in the market remain high

President Rodrigo Duterte is likely to consider the lawmakers’ call for the withdrawal of his order to reduce the tax on pork imports, Malacañang said Tuesday.

Senators have earlier expressed the lowering of tariffs on imported pork will “kill” the local hog industry.

Presidential spokesperson Secretary Harry Roque said the Chief Executive will review the concerns raised by the senators on his Executive Order (EO) 128, which mandated the lowering of tariffs from 30 to 5 percent for “in-quota” products and 40 to 15 percent for “off-quota” products.

“The President listens to everyone, especially when senators unite,” Roque said in a televised briefing.

The official acknowledged that senators are challenging the order on adjusting the tariffs of imported fresh, chilled or frozen meat amid the shortage of pork and its high prices in the local market.

“The debate right now is whether or not tariffs should be reduced further. They do not understand why there is a need to reduce it when the prices of pork in the market remain high,” he said.

During the Senate committee-of-the-whole inquiry on Monday, lawmakers urged Agriculture Secretary William Dar to convince Duterte to reconsider and recall the order which supposedly ignored the pleas of local hog raisers.

They also quizzed Dar over his recommendation to push EO 128.

Dar said the demand for pork this year is supposedly at 1.6 million metric tons (MT), adding that the Philippines has a “reduction now of 25 percent.”