House bill grants President power to import pork during emergencies

FILE PHOTO: Meat vendors at Commonwealth Market, Quezon City adhere to the price ceiling order of the government for pork products last February 9. INQUIRER file photo / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker has filed a measure seeking to grant the Chief Executive the power to import supply of pork meat or procure from local producers for the purpose of stabilizing its prices in the market.

Under House Bill No. 9256 filed by Marikina City Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo, this power of the President can be utilized in case of a state of emergency or state of calamity or when public interest so requires.

“Allowing government to directly procure meat ensures that any tariff reduction will translate to lower pork prices in the market as government becomes the source of competition for importers,” Quimbo said in the bill.

“Similarly, this allows local producers to be insulated from threats of competition while it transitions to more efficient production methods and better protection against ASF (African Swine Fever),” she added.

The bill states that the President may also delegate the power to the responsible agency or agencies that can immediately carry out the importation of the pork supply.

Under the proposed law, the government will have the ability to “buy high” from local producers and “sell low” to consumers. And with government acting as the “middle man,” Quimbo said it can ensure that “pork is bought from local hog raisers at a reasonable price, then sold at a retail price that is competitive with imports.”

The measure likewise pushes for the creation of the Swine Competitiveness Enhancement Fund which shall consist of all tariff revenues relating to pork meat which will be used to strengthen the local hog industry.

“Higher penalties will also be imposed on smugglers of pork meat. Bukod sa life imprisonment, triple po ng halaga ng kanilang ipinuslit ang dapat nilang multa,” Quimbo said in a separate statement.

“To facilitate more efficient investigation and prosecution of cases of anti-competitive behavior in the pork supply chain, the bill directs DA (Department of Agriculture) and BOC (Bureau of Customs) to provide the PCC (Philippine Competition Commission) with necessary information to evaluate the pork meat industry.

EDV