Rody imposes price cap on pork, chicken
President Duterte yesterday approved price ceilings on selected pork and chicken products in Metro Manila to curb the rising costs of food items amid the pandemic.
Duterte signed Executive Order No. 124 that sets a mandated price cap of P270 per kilo for kasim or pork shoulder; P300 per kilo for liempo or pork belly and P160 per kilo for dressed chicken.
The order will take effect immediately upon publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation, effective for 60 days unless extended by the President.
“The current retail prices of basic necessities in the National Capital Region such as pork and chicken have increased significantly, causing undue burden to Filipinos, especially the underprivileged and marginalized. It is imperative and urgent to ensure that basic necessities are adequate, affordable and accessible to all,” Duterte said in the order.
Based on latest market monitoring, the price of kasim
ranges from P340-P400 per kilo, liempo at P400-P450 per kilo, while dressed chicken is at P170-P200 per kilo.
The price increases have been attributed to a reduced pork supply caused by the African swine fever (ASF). Republic Act No. 7851 or the Price Act allows the President to impose a price ceiling on any basic necessity or prime commodity during an emergency, calamity or any event that causes artificial and unreasonable price hikes.
Lawmakers hit cutting tariffs
Meanwhile, Senators Cynthia Villar, Francis Pangilinan, Imee Marcos and Risa Hontiveros opposed yesterday the proposal to reduce tariffs on pork imports from 30 percent to as low as five percent.
“You cannot remove the tariff because that’s the protection of the local industry. Our local producers are already suffering,” Villar said.
“Food produced locally and nearby can be distributed more efficiently, lowering risks of food insecurity, malnutrition and hikes in food prices, while creating local jobs,” Villar added.
Villar also slammed the Department of Agriculture (DA) for turning to importation in response to current supply and price problems. “We don’t want that. You better make a way to bring down inflation without cutting the tariffs,” she said.
For her part, House deputy speaker Bernadette Herrera called out the DA and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) over the rising prices of meat and vegetables.
“It is high time that the DA and DTI do something about the rising cost of food. It is not right that we let our people endure the soaring food prices since many of them have already lost their jobs and are facing a reduction in their income because of the pandemic,” she said.
Lower pork prices – KMP
Militant peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) asked government to bring pork down to P190P200 per kilo, prevailing prices before ASF struck.
“Either through price freeze or price ceiling, the government must pull down the prices of pork to affordable levels, by providing significant support price and subsidies to local producers, particularly hog raisers affected by the ASF. We know that the government has enough budget to grant support prices and subsidies,” said KMP chairman emeritus Rafael Mariano.
KMP said the government must also provide urgent cash aid to poor sectors affected by record-high inflation and exorbitant food prices. Since last year, farmers are asking for P10,000 cash aid and P15,000 production subsidies.
Wage subsidies
Amid spiraling costs of essential commodities, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) will sit down with trade unions to look into the feasibility of granting wage subsidies for minimum wage earners.
“Before we make any recommendation or reaction to the proposal of labor, we are to go into in-depth consultation with other agencies of government if the government can shoulder the cost of wage subsidy. We are talking of millions of workers. And two million workers, that would cost about P8 billion already,” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said at a virtual briefing yesterday.
DOLE previously recommended the granting of subsidy for small and medium enterprises, but it was not approved due to budgetary constraints.
“In our budget proposal, we recommended P20 billion for companies so that they won’t retrench workers, the government will subsidize the salary but it was not approved,” Bello said. – With Louise Maureen Simeon, Mayen Jaymalin, Rhodina Villanueva, Paolo Romero, Delon Porcalla