Senate probe of imported pork ‘tongpats’ set

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate should look into the alleged racket run by a syndicate in the Department of Agriculture (DA) that is pushing for the lowering of import duties and increase in the cap on imported meat, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said on Tuesday.

Lacson warned that allowing the syndicate to perpetuate its operation presents a “triple whammy” for the country, as it threatens to kill the local hog industry, while raising health concerns and causing the government revenue losses.

“We should unmask who is/are behind this scheme no matter how powerful and influential he may be with this administration,” he said in a statement.

Lacson made the statement a day after he said on the Senate floor that a syndicate in the DA is bound to make as much as P6 billion in kickbacks from the agency’s proposal to increase the import quotas, known as the minimum access volume (MAV) and lower tariffs on pork imports.

The senator urged his colleagues to constitute a committee of the whole to conduct an inquiry into the racket, as the country’s hog industry continues to reel from the devastation wrought by the African swine fever.

The Senate on Monday passed a resolution calling on President Rodrigo Duterte to reject the DA’s recommendation after the DA failed to justify the need to increase the MAV and lower the tariffs.

He said the “tongpats” racket has been going on in the DA for years, where corrupt DA employees exact bribes in the allocation of quota to favored importers and the issuance of the Phyto-Sanitary Import Clearance.

The DA has recommended to President Duterte to increase the MAV from 54,000 to 404,000 metric tons.

It has also sought to lower the tariff from 30 percent to 5 percent if within import quota.