DTI chief gets CA nod

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Appointments (CA) yesterday confirmed the ad interim appointment of Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual.

During the session, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri described Pascual as the “guardian of prices of basic goods” who must work hard to bring down the prices.

Zubiri, chairman of the CA, said Pascual’s confirmation should not be delayed as he has a lot of things to do for the country and the people.

He reminded the newly confirmed DTI secretary that he is in the position to help bring down prices of onions, garlic, eggs and other basic goods.

Rep. Johnny Pimentel expressed confidence that Pascual is physically and intellectually capable and ready to steer the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to greater heights. Rep. Jose Gay Padiernos asked Pascual about his plans on connecting the micro, small and medium enterprises with private financers to help them sustain their businesses.

Pascual said that the Small Business Corp., an attached agency of DTI, has programs that would provide financing to entrepreneurs. He said the agency has extended loans and grants to small businesses during the pandemic to help them get back on their feet.

Iloilo Rep. Ferjenel Biron endorsed the confirmation of Pascual, whose competency to discharge the duties of DTI chief is measured through his academic prowess, work experience and achievements as he has held ranking positions and performed as manager, economist, administrator, advisor and leader throughout his career.

Prior to his appointment, Pascual was serving in the private sector and academe in the past four decades.

He handled and headed institutions such as the Management Association of the Philippines, Institute of Corporate Directors, Asian Development Bank, University of the Philippines and Asian Institute of Management.

His past board memberships include non-profits and other organizations such as the Philippine Institute of Development Studies, International Rice Research Institute, Institute for Solidarity in Asia and Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines. 

From 2011 to 2017, Pascual was president and co-chair of UP. He implemented initiatives and programs that transformed UP into a research-intensive university, raised its profile as a global university and strengthened its capabilities as a leading public service university.?

Pascual modernized UP’s physical and cyber infrastructure, initiated its digital transformation and strengthened its financial sustainability.

Before his confirmation, Cavite Rep. Lani Mercado grilled Pascual on the surging prices of onions and garlic as well as the oversupply of tomatoes.

Pascual said that agricultural crops and produce from farms are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture (DA) while DTI has task forces that monitor prices in the market.

“We help the DA monitor the prices. We are investigating the matter like prices of onions that suddenly increase. There are many reasons…from farmgate to outlet, market or groceries, the products pass through many hands, each time it goes up and up until it reaches the consumers,” he said.

Pascual said connecting farmers to institutional buyers was seen as one of the solutions raised during a discussion with the officials of the National Price Coordinating Council, which he chairs.

“We will make it experimental or trial. We will connect a farm from the province to an institutional buyer, a direct transaction. We will cut out the middleman. It has yet to start as it is not yet harvest season, which is in February, March and April. We are preparing the system,” he added.

Pascual said the absence of cold storage is another problem that compels farmers to sell their crops to traders, who have the opportunity to manage the supply and market prices.

Sen. Cynthia Villar questioned Pascual about how traders bought onions from farmers for only P25 a kilo, but the price balloons to P600 a kilo in the market, which she described as abuse by traders.

She said as DTI chief, Pascual should prevent the abuse.

“The retail price is really unreasonable compared to the farm gate price. When we went around last time, we asked where the control would be done. Retailers at the market only take their products from wholesalers, profited by about eight to nine percent. So controlling the price at the retail level will work,” Pascual said.

“As I said, we found a possible solution to link the farmers where the harvests are made with international buyers so the supply chain will be more efficient. There are not many links and overlaps with different traders along the way,” he added.

Biz groups back Pascual

Several business and industry groups earlier expressed support for the appointment of Pascual.

Among these were the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Employers Confederation of the Philippines and the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc.

“His appointment received a resounding cheer from the country’s business and scientific community. We continue to believe that his well-known visionary leadership, outstanding credentials and solid experience in the fields of education, business and finance make him the best person to steer DTI toward being a major catalyst of job creation, economic transformation and post-pandemic growth,” the three groups said in a joint declaration of support. The groups commended Pascual’s industrial policy of harnessing innovation and digital transformation toward transforming the country’s industrial landscape into one that is inclusive and competitive.

“With Secretary Pascual at the helm of the DTI, we feel confident that the country’s industry development agenda, through his planned programs and initiatives, will effectively drive the fulfillment of the President’s socio-economic agenda through growing globally competitive and innovative industries, attracting quality investments and creating more and better jobs in the country,” the groups said.