Anti-business ‘fund raisers’

In my previous column “How to lose P4,500,000 w/o trying,” I mentioned that I would follow up on the article with a story about a P1.2-million fire hydrant requirement being imposed by a town/city in the province of Batangas. When I heard about the story, I was puzzled why a municipal government or a city in the province of Batangas would require poultry owners to put up a fire hydrant. If we were back in the 70’s and 80’s when poultry shacks or battery were made of coco lumber, bamboo and nipa roofs, I could understand the concern about fire and flammable structures.

When a friend relayed the story to me, I requested that they write the details and send the letter. The affected individual, of course, was reluctant to openly expose the matter and requested that I don’t mention the exact locality because their source of income would be immediately shut down by the all too powerful local government. I believe that the story should be told to make officials at the DILG aware that unreasonable requirements ultimately lead to forced corruption, is anti-business and anti-consumer.

“Hi Cito. First and foremost, I am a big fan and a long-time follower of yours.

“I took the courage to send you this after several days of thinking about the situation of my farm. I have a broiler farm, which has been in operation since the 1990s. It was started by my father as a simple broiler operation with just four houses with 20,000 birds and around four farms boys to take care of the birds. We buy our chicks from local suppliers and sell them to viajeros when they already weigh 1.5 kilograms at around 40 to 42 days.

“When my father died in 1998, the family decided that I take charge of managing the farm. With additional capital from the family and a bank loan, I was able to modernize the houses and the equipment using the latest technology available. It was a profitable business and many more followed suit, as more and more farms were built in our area. I became involved in poultry farming and met friends with the same passion and personal involvement in the industry. I was even invited to several farm blessings around the country. We exchange ideas on how to solve our current challenges through text messages and even do meet-ups if we get the chance.

“Most of us did not make money during the years of the pandemic and we struggled through 2022 with the increase in the cost of feeds by almost 50 percent, 35 percent increase in electricity costs and increased labor costs with erratic live broiler market prices, depending on the influx of imported chicken flooding the market. My farmer friends who bring their broilers to the market also complained about imposition of several taxes/payments to get permits to transport/traverse several municipalities.

These include the concurrence of the Veterinary Health Certificate, Shipping Permit and Animal Inspection Certificate.

“Last week, I was to renew my business permit and lo and behold, there is this new requirement from my town that I need to install fire prevention facilities amounting to more than P1M from their accredited supplier for me to be given a business permit. As if this is not enough, my barangay now requires me to get a “Chick Acceptance Permit” with a fee before they allow any chicks to enter my farm. I have called my friends about this and it seems like they are in the same boat as I am. Other farms were informed a day before the chicks were to arrive and had no choice but to immediately pay to avoid cancellation of chick arrival. Non-payment means no chicks and even revocation of the business permit. Aside from the annual business permits, LGU fees every harvest will amount to almost P20,000, excluding the associated expenses on the processing of these permits.

“Do not get me wrong. I do support the government’s directive on controlling the spread of avian influenza and the problem of fly infestation but there must be some audits on how these are being implemented at the municipal and barangay level. As the prices of food increase due to inflation and higher fuel costs, these additional permits increase the cost of production and additional burden to the consumers. This situation also makes the cost of imported chicken cheaper than our local production.

“As for me and my friends, we are already considering downsizing and even stopping our operation as it is becoming more complicated and emotionally and psychologically draining as we struggle to keep afloat.

“I hope you can give some space in your columns about our concerns.

Thank you and more power to you!”

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After hearing about this, I asked someone from the Bureau of Fire Protection, who is in charge or responsible for fire hydrants? The BFP officer told me that it is the responsibility of the LGU in coordination with the BFP and support of the local water utilities to insure a constant supply of water. Fire hydrants are supposed to be in publicly accessible locations and only BFP personnel are authorized to access these.

Nowadays, almost all poultry farms construct their pens and batteries with insulated sheet metal, fiber cement and generally fire resistant or fire-retardant material. They are mostly tunnel vented temperature-controlled structures that have mist sprayers to insure proper levels of humidity. They are also spaced far apart to manage and prevent the transfer of airborne disease. But none of these explanations matter to greedy local officials, who want a cut from businesses directly or through their accredited suppliers!

This, Mr. President Bongbong Marcos, is just one of many reasons why the prices of eggs have gone up. Since LGUs are now guaranteed a bigger share in collected taxes, the DILG and Malacañang must put a stop to these anti-business fund raisers!

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