Duterte orders crackdown on pork hoarders, profiteers

MANILA, Philippines — To address the spiraling market prices of pork and chicken, President Duterte ordered the trade and agriculture departments to coordinate with law enforcement units in hunting down smugglers, profiteers and hoarders of food commodities.

Under the newly formed sub-task group on economic intelligence, the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), along with the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of the Interior and Local Government, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine National Police, Bureau of Customs, Philippine Competition Commission, National Security Council and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, will run after hoarders and profiteers.

According to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, the DA pushed to review the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) of agricultural commodities that may be imported with lower tariff.

“Now, as for the projections of pork supplies for this year, the Department of Agriculture estimates that with a demand of 1,618,355 metric tons and the projections of the 2021 supplies, we will need to begin the process of reviewing the MAV,” Nograles said.

At a press briefing, presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said the government is looking at the Visayas and Mindanao to increase the pork supply in Luzon amid the African swine fever, worsened by the pandemic. He also emphasized the need to impose price cap on pork sold at groceries and supermarkets, not just in public markets.

“We are trying to increase the supply, not just impose the price cap. So, if we will have abundance of supply, and then the price cap, we expect that the price will naturally lower because more supply means less prices. That’s the twin strategy of the government. We are trying to balance the rights of the consumer to be able to eat meat and the right of hog raisers to protect their livelihood,” Roque said.

The DOJ will issue a department order directing the NBI to go after pork hoarders and profiteers, in accordance with mandate of the task force.

“We have expressed to the DA and the DTI our willingness to participate in the proposed sub-task group on economic intelligence,” said Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra.

Stop pork tariff cuts

Meanwhile, various stakeholders asked the Tariff Commission to drop DA’s proposal to reduce tariffs on pork imports for failing to present data that justifies why the tax cut is needed.

“They cannot even explain where they get that five percent. It’s very simple, they submitted a petition, they should be prepared to justify that. Because if not, then this should better be in the trash,” Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura chairman Rosendo So said.

In separate statements, the National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc., United Broiler Raisers Association, Alyansa Agrikultura and Federation of Free Farmers slammed the proposal.

The DA recommended tariff reductions to increase pork supply and stabilize prices. The pork supply deficit is expected to get bigger as the year ends.

For his part, Sen. Francis Pangilinan said imposing a price ceiling is not enough to address high prices of meat. Rather, the government needs to ensure a steady supply in the market and file criminal charges against profiteers.

“We better find a solution. I’m saying this (price ceiling) alone will not make it work. If you do not act fast it is better not to do it, if there is no supply, either from the Visayas, that can be distributed quickly,” he said. – Evelyn Macairan, Louise Maureen Simeon, Cecille Suerte Felipe