Senator Cynthia Villar. SCREENGRAB from INQUIRER.net FILE VIDEO
Senator Cynthia Villar wants a review of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Food Safety Act of 2013 amid the World Health Organization’s warning that processed meats such as bacon, sausage, ham, and hot dogs cause cancer.
Villar noted that the measure was enacted into law in early 2013 but it was only last February this year, or two years after, that the IRR of the law was issued.
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“Usually, you’re given six months to do it (IRR), pero medyo ang tagal nito (but this one takes a bit longer),” she said at a forum in the Senate on Tuesday.
Villar, chair of the Senate committee on agriculture and food, said the delay of the release of the IRR was probably due to the absence of a clear mandate as to who should be the lead agency that should implement the law.
The law, she said, provides that its implementation should be a joint effort of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Agriculture (DA).
“Palagay ko hindi maganda yung ganun. Dapat talaga may isang lead agency kasi pag dalawa kayo, who will do it? I think that’s the cause for delay and even yung paghaharap sa mga stakeholders to explain yung IRR, wala pa…” Villar said.
(I think that’s not good. There should really be a lead agency because if there are two, who will do it? I think that’s the cause for delay and even the task of explaining the IRR to the stakeholders has not been done yet…)
“We plan to file a resolution to review the implementation of IRR kasi medyo na late e, sobrang late, two years. Meron bang IRR that came after two years? Parang masyadong matagal, usually matagal na yung one year.”
(We plan to file a resolution to review the implementation of IRR because it’s a bit late, it’s too late already, two years. Is there an IRR that came after two years? I think that’s too long, usually one year is long enough.)
“I think may confusion ng konti and in fact, marami na ngang incidents na kailangan yung Food Safety Law like yung fake rice, maraming good poisoning,” she further said.
(I think there’s some confusion and in fact, there are many incidents that require that Food Safety Law like the fake rice and many cases of food poisoning.)
While the law was enacted even before she got elected in 2013, Villar said it would be better if the DA should take care of food safety in the farms while the food safety of processed food should fall under the DOH.
“Dapat may ganoong division of labor para hindi magulo (We should have that kind of division of labor so that there’s no confusion),” said the senator.