Senate approves resolution asking Duterte to recall EO on pork imports

The 24-member Senate onn Thursday, April 15, unanimously adopted a resolution urging President Duterte to withdraw Executive Order (EO) 128 that lowers the tariff on, and increases the volume of pork imports.

A total of 18 senators, including Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan who reiterated the call for Malacañang to urgently declare a state of calamity due to the African swine fever (ASF), manifested their support for the resolution during its public hearing as Committee of the Whole on food security issues.

“Declaring a state of calamity is important because we have to free up funds from the calamity fund to provide the necessary support. The Secretary of Agriculture has already said he needs ₱8.6 billion for 2021 to address the swine fever and he only has ₱2.6 or ₱4 billion . Kulang pa. Saan niya kukunin ‘yon? (That is not enough. Where will he get it?),” Pangilinan said.

Malacañang issued Executive Order 128 lowering import tariffs for pork, potentially costing the government ₱11 billion in tariff collections with the flood of pork imports severely impacting local pork production.

Contrary to the experience of the local hog industry, National Economic and Development Authority Acting Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua told Thursday’s Senate hearing that the temporary increase in tariffs would not kill the local hog industry, saying that it would potentially account for less than a quarter of the total consumption.

In a statement on Friday, April 16, Chua said that imported pork will not flood the domestic market as local hog raisers will continue fill in most of the demand.

Based on NEDA estimates, pork imports would reach 381,000 metric tons in 2021, equivalent to only 22.8 percent of the country’s total consumption.

Chua said the estimated volume of pork imports is still lower compared with their projected carcass pork deficit for 2021.

NEDA said hog raisers could produce only around 1.2 million metric tons carcass pork this year, short by 477,000 metric tons against the projected demand of 1.67 million metric tons.

But Chua agreed that the current situation is more severe than the 2018 rice crisis.

While the rice producers got government support, Sen. Pangilinan lamented the lack of assistance for the local hog industry.

“There is no such competitiveness enhancement fund for the hog industry,” Pangilinan said, noting that unlike the rice sector, the local hog industry is facing a calamity and losses of around ₱68 billion due to ASF.

Pangilinan also said the local rice industry had the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) for cash assistance and support to rice farmers in anticipation of the entry of imported rice.

The former Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agriculture Modernization during the Noynoy Aquino administration said that comparing the rice industry situation from 2018 to the current pork crisis is simplistic and is comparing apples to oranges.

“The rice sector then was not facing COVID-19. Today, you have the hog industry facing COVID. So all these seem to ignore the plight of the hog industry given all the challenges that it is facing,” Pangilinan said.

Local hog raisers echoed Pangilinan’s call to declare a state of calamity due to ASF.

In March, the Senate adopted Pangilinan’s Senate Resolution 97 calling for the declaration of a state of calamity to free up funds needed to address ASF, as well as to oppose the reduction of the tariff rates and the lifting of the cap on imported pork products.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the Palace is already considering the declaration, pending the recommendation from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

The new Senate resolution also resolves to approve in plenary the appropriate resolution for fixing the pork tariff rates and MAV if necessary.