Duterte stalls pork tariff; Senators livid
Duterte previously assured the Senate that he was willing to withdraw his EO on pork tariffs once market prices go down and supply become sufficient
President Rodrigo Duterte has urged the Senate to give his order cutting pork tariffs a “chance”, saying the lawmakers could revisit it in two months to assess its impact on the shortage and prices of swine meat, Malacañang said Wednesday.
Duterte issued the appeal after at
least 20 senators expressed their intent to issue a joint resolution to revoke Executive Order (EO) 128 when Congress resumes session next month amid concerns that lower tariffs on imported pork would kill the local hog industry.
Several Senators, however, denounced the Chief Executive’s suggestion, saying the order should be withdrawn to protect the local hog industry.
In the House of Representatives, lawmakers also co-authored their own joint resolution calling on Duterte to scrap EO 128, though this is still pending approval.
The President, according to his spokesperson Secretary Harry Roque, was “asking the esteemed members of the Senate to give Executive Order 128 a chance and consider its intended effects, which include addressing the shortage in swine meat, stabilizing the price of pork meat, and minimizing inflation rate.”
“Let us revisit the EO in two months to assess whether the aforesaid intended effects have been realized or met,” Roque added.
The Palace official also assured lawmakers that the Executive branch is “one with the Senate” in ensuring the sufficient domestic pork production, as well as the recovery of the local industry from African swine fever that led to the culling of thousands of hogs.
In response to the President’s latest call, Senator Francis Pangilinan said the Palace should listen to the concerns of local hog raisers instead of appealing to the Senate.
“Instead of just appealing to the Senate to give the EO a chance, Malacañang should dialogue with and listen to the hog raisers so it can get a better idea on the Senate position.,” Pangilinan said.
The Senate, sitting as a committee of the whole, has earlier adopted a resolution asking Duterte to revoke EO 128.
Should Duterte fail to heed the chamber’s call, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said he would file another resolution recalling the EO when Congress resumes session on 17 May.
Senate President Vicente Sotto also confirmed that the committee of the whole will meet when the Congress resumes work.
Duterte previously assured the Senate that he was willing to withdraw his EO on pork tariffs once market prices go down and supply becomes sufficient.
“We can always withdraw the EO that I signed. It was just a temporary measure really to bring down the prices, but the senators see it in a different light,” the Chief Executive said in his televised meeting with Cabinet officials on Monday night.
Senator Risa Hontiveros said that while she welcomes the openness of the Malacañang on recalling the EO, she thinks that it will be best for the order to be withdrawn altogether.
She argued that instead of fast-tracking importation, the government should opt for programs that will help the ailing industry to recover.
“There’s no need to hasten importation since the first border inspection facilities to curb the African swine fever are still not built,” she said.
“Maybe it’s easier to save the local industry,” she added.
Signed on 7 April, the EO mandated the drop on tariffs from 30 to 5 percent for the first three months and to 10 percent for the next nine months over a one-year period.
Instead of just appealing to the Senate to give the EO a chance, Malacañang should dialogue with and listen to the hog raisers so it can get a better idea on the Senate position.
The Executive branch is one with the Senate in ensuring sufficient domestic pork production, as well as the recovery of the local industry from African swine fever that led to the culling of thousands of hogs.
The order also increased to 350,000 metric tons from 54,000 metric tons the total volume of pork that may be imported.
It was approved to supposedly bring down the prices of meat from P300 to P200 and meet the nationwide pork demand of 1.61 million metric tons (MT) this year.
The country could only produce 1.19 million MT of pork, according to the agriculture department.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar, in the same meeting, defended the EO and said it went through a “painstaking process” of research and analysis.
Acting Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua also reiterated support for lower pork tariffs, emphasizing the need to address the deficiency in supply while bringing down the country’s inflation rate.