Backyard hog raisers suspend selling pork
DAGUPAN CITY—IF there are no pork from newly slaughtered pigs in public markets today, it is because backyard hog raisers have chosen to keep their stocks rather than sell them and lose.
Rosendo So, president of the Northern Luzon Hog Raisers Cooperative and director of the Swine Development Council, said backyard hog raisers on Friday decided to suspend supplying pork to public markets because of the government’s alleged helplessness in stopping meat smuggling in the country.
At 11:30 a.m. on Friday, So said backyard hog raisers stopped selling their stocks. “This means there will be no hogs in slaughterhouses to be butchered on Friday night,” So said.
“[Backyard raisers] do not want to sell their pigs because of heavy losses. They want the government instead to buy their stocks,” So said.
He said the backyard hog industry has been hurting because smuggled meat, which are passed on as fresh meat, are being sold at lower prices. “The smugglers are not paying taxes, so they can just sell their products from P6 to P10 a kilogram,” he said.
The suspension of pork supply was decided by commercial and backyard hog raisers in the country during their convention in Cebu City last week, So said.
“We have been trying to call on the government to stop technical smuggling of meat, but it has always turned a deaf ear to our pleas,” he said.
In his letter to Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) Director Efren Nuestro, So said the total importation of pork, chicken, beef and buffalo meat rose from 200 million kilograms in 2005 to 408 million kg in 2011.
“Our commitment to the World Trade Organization is 54 million kg as minimum access volume (MAV) and we only used up 40,283,059 kg in 2011. What we are questioning is that we imported 169,218,977 kg as per your own admission,” So said.
“The problem is not in the MAV but the volume of offal (innards) importation which is abused by importers through technical smuggling,” So said.
He said in 2010, the United Nations reported that 56 million kg of offal entered the country, but BAI figures showed 105 million kg. Last year, he said, the UN said that only 51 million kg of offal entered the country but BAI figures showed 114 million kg.
“The discrepancies can only mean that 49 million kg were smuggled in 2010 and 63 million kg smuggled in 2011,” So said.
Edgardo Flor, city environment and natural resources officer, said DPWH and the road construction firm were liable for removing 13 pine trees along the path of a road-widening project despite the absence of a tree-cutting permit inside the forested area of Barangay Happy Hallow early this month. The firm reportedly used a backhoe to push the pine trees out of the area being paved with concrete.
Flor said the DPWH and the firm also cut 19 more pine trees on April 20 despite a cease and desist order (CDO) he issued.
“DPWH finally sent us an application for a tree-cutting permit covering 157 trees, but only after we called their attention to the violation and because of our CDO. But they still proceeded to cut more trees without determining first if DENR would approve their request,” Flor said.
“[DENR inspection teams] observed that the trees were pushed out of the ground, with roots and all, using machines,” he said.
The DENR recovered the fallen trees, Flor said.
The DPWH Cordillera office and the Baguio engineering district were not prepared to issue a statement when the INQUIRER reached the offices on Friday. Their officials were either out of town or were busy with road inspections.
But documents showed that the pine trees were cut to make way for the last stage of the Baguio circumferential road project.
The circumferential road was designed to provide an alterna- tive route to motorists going to Camp John Hay, which would not require them to pass through busy Session Road and the central business district, a briefing paper from the Regional Development Council showed.
The road also connects the three major routes to the mountain resort—kennonroad, Marcos Highway and Naguilian Road—in order to provide tourists an alternative road to several Baguio destinations, the document said.
But its completion required the widening of a road traversing Happy Hallow, one of the villages inside the Camp John Hay reservation, Flor said.
“More trees line Balacbac Road, which would complete the circuit, and we fear these would be cut unless we take this matter to court,” he said.
The government’s process of issuing tree-cutting permits drew attention early this month when a local court issued a temporary environmental protection order against mall giant SM to stop it from earth balling 182 trees pending the resolution of a suit filed by various groups.