Gov’t must not ‘convert’ farmers into agri importers, says Pimentel

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III is hoping that the importation of food products is only a temporary strategy of the national government.

Pimentel’s remarks came following President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s directive easing procedures on the importation of agricultural goods.

Earlier, Marcos said it is important to streamline administrative procedures to allow for “transparency and predictability of policies” on the importation of agricultural products, believing this could help ensure food security and improve local production of commodities.

READ: Marcos orders DA to ease import process of agri products

In a statement issued on Monday, Pimentel said the ultimate goal of the administration should be to locally produce food that would be sufficient for the entire population.

“Sa current production levels, plus effects of El Niño, I believe we need to import some food items, but this must be very temporary in duration,” said Pimentel.

(At the current production levels, plus the effects of El Niño, I believe we need to import some food items, but this must be very temporary.)

He noted that the policy should be to increase domestic production of all food products that Filipinos consume.

The senator said the government should “not encourage or convert” Filipino farmers to become importers.

READ: DA suspends importation of ‘galunggong,’ bonito

Not enough

Opposition lawmaker Risa Hontiveros, on the other hand, said many people would benefit from Marcos’ directive, but she noted that it is not enough for Filipino farmers and businessmen.

“Kahit naman magluluwag sa mga regulasyon at non-tariff barriers sa pag-aangkat ng agricultural products, kailangan pa ring siguraduhin ang tamang paggamit ng mga import permits,” she said in a separate statement.

(Even if we ease the regulations and non-tariff barriers in the importation of agricultural products, we still need to ensure the proper use of import permits.)

Hontiveros said even if the order encourages more businessmen to “join agriculture,” problems would still persist in local markets, particularly in terms of the landing cost of some fish from a supplier to the market.

She said there is a need to address these issues, too.

Local production over importation

Meanwhile, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero said he agrees with Marcos’ order but also admitted that he prefers to emphasize local production over importation.

“True and genuine food security is based on domestic ability and supply, to answer our needs with importation simply being a stop-gap or in the interim while we haven’t achieved food security in order to curb inflation of basic food staples,” Escudero told reporters in a text message.

In the end, Escudero said he trusts Agriculture chief Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. would hold accountable whoever commits abuses based on the recent order.

Transparency

Somehow related to Escudero’s stand, Senator Nancy Binay said there is a need to make certain that transparency is observed once administrative measures are eased.

“By evaluating both costs and benefits, we can guarantee that any adjustments to import regulations align with our goals of realizing food security, and fostering a resilient and sustainable agricultural sector,” said Binay.