DA policies “favor” malls, meat processors—Salceda

THE powerful Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives (HoR) chaired by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, has rejected the proposal of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to further bring down the import tariff of prime cut meat from 40 percent to just 5 percent, saying the current policy mainly favors huge supermarkets and the country’s meat processors, at the expense of the country’s backyard farmers.

At the committee’s hearing on Monday, March 8, 2021, that was supposed to focus on agricultural smuggling, the committee members called on DA secretary, William Dar, to “reverse” his recommendation to further reduce the import duty on “prime cut” meat (pork), or those being domestically produced, from 40 percent to just 5 percent.

This, after data provided by DA showed that except for last year (2020), the height of the pandemic, the country’s import of “meat processing cuts” or those used by the country’s meat processors, have increased by several hundred percent in the last 5 years, compared to prime cuts that are of immediate concern to the consumers:

2015—177.78 million metric tons versus 75.08 million metric tons; 2016, 195.80 million metric tons versus 80.28 million metric tons; 2017, 214.05 million metric tons versus 91.43 million metric tons; 2018, 271.53 million metric tons versus 120.62 million metric tons; 2019, 239.33 million metric tons versus 96.45 million metric tons; and, 2020, 124.69 million metric tons versus 131.33 million metric tons.

The figures, Salceda pointed out, clearly showed that the DA’s policy is skewed in favor of meat processors.

Except for Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo, who sided with Dar in batting for a 5 percent reduction in duty for prime cut meat, the committee members sided with Salceda in asking the DA to withdraw its recommendation to Malacañang to further downgrade the tariff rate.

Dar also earned the lawmakers’ consternation after admitting the Cabinet-level Committee on Tariff and Related Matters (CTRM) would recommend to Pres. Duterte to sign the executive order reducing the tariff duty after March 24—when Congress is no longer in session.

“Congress is in charge when it comes to taxes and duties and we are not even consulted,” opined Iloilo representative, Janette Garin, one of the principal authors of RA 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.

Salceda also rejected Dar and Quimbo’s claim that reducing the tariff would help combat smuggling and help tame the inflation rate, pointing out that “those behind the importations” are also to blame for smuggling. He added that his own study showed that tariff reduction would result to a 0.4 percent reduction in the inflation rate.

Salceda said that to protect local producers, the DA should better increase the ‘MAV’ (minimum access volume) for imported prime cuts while retaining the 40 percent duty.

The lawmakers also criticized the DA’s policy of not allowing public wet markets to sell imported, frozen meats, while letting them to be sold at shopping malls and supermarkets.

They noted that Dar’s proposal to lower the duty to 5 percent would only benefit these malls, again at the expense of the local hog industry.

Garin also noted that while “border protection” is the responsibility of the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the clearance for import releases comes from the DA.

“Kung may clearance, palalabasin ng Customs,” she pointed out.

Salceda also belittled the anti-smuggling task force created by Dar, known as ‘CREST-O’ (Compliance and Regulatory Enforcement for Security and Trade Office), after noting its measly apprehension of just P12.7 million since it was created two years ago.

Questioned by Salceda, task force head, retired police general, Jonathan Ablang, conceded that thus far, he has only managed to open “3 containers” containing suspected smuggled meat products and glutenous (malagkit) rice from China.