In the Senate agriculture and food committee’s hearing on the rising food prices Monday, Senator Cynthia Villar said that Senate members were in “unison” in rejecting any tariff reductions and told the DA to find other solutions to address the spike in prices.
“’Pag nag-import naman tayo huwag mo naman tanggalin ang tariff kasi that’s the protection of our locals,” Villar told Agriculture Secretary William Dar.
“‘Yong pinag-import natin, okay na ‘yon, pero ‘yong tatanggalan ng tarriff, medyo kawawa na ‘yong mga local producers. Kasi hard-hit na nga sila tapos pako-compete mo pa ‘yong walang tarriff, eh di na sila makaka-recover niyan,” she added.
The DA sought to reduce the tariffs for pork imports under the minimum access volume (MAV) from the 30 percent to five percent for the first six months and 10 percent for the remaining months of the year. The agency also proposed the reduction of the current 40 percent tariff for out-quota imports.
At the same time, the DA is also looking to triple the MAV allocation for pork imports to encourage producers and importers to bring in more of the commodity into the country.
Dar, during the hearing, said importation is only one of their programs and will be the DA’s “last resort” to fill up demand for pork.
“Why will we bring down the tariff? Kahit na lagyan sila ng tariff competitive pa rin sila…Parang pinukpok mo na ‘yong local producers, sinaksak mo pa,” Villar said.
Senator Imee Marcos also opposed this, lamenting that it has been a “vicious cycle” to ease importation after supply shortages are announced.
“Unang-una, nakakatakot. Imagine, ‘yong Department of Agriculture na tagapagtanggol dapat ng mga magsasaka, pangungunahan na naman ang importation. Ano ba naman, baliktad na yata ang mundo,” Marcos said. (Vanne Terrazola)