SIXTY days is what it takes for the desired results seen to address the problem surrounding pork supply and its market price, says presidential spokesperson Harry Roque in a statement farmed out to the media on Wednesday.
Roque said that President Rodrigo Duterte is asking the members of the Senate to reconsider a resolution signed by 18 members, urging the President to withdraw Executive Order No. 128, which provides for the temporary modification of the rates of import duty for fresh, chilled or frozen meat of swine, and to recall the recommendation to increase the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) of pork.
Senators hinted at EO 128 as grossly disadvantageous to local hog raisers and that such a move is not needed given the surplus in pork supply in the Visayas and Mindanao.
“President Duterte is asking the esteemed members of the Senate to give EO 128 a chance and consider its intended effects, which include addressing the shortage in swine meat, stabilizing the price of pork meat, and minimizing inflation rate, as mentioned by the Department of Agriculture and the President’s Economic Team,” Roque said.
The Palace mouthpiece also urged the senators to revisit the EO in two months “to assess whether the aforesaid intended effects have been met,” even as he assured that the executive branch only wanted what is best for the local swine industry.
“We are one with the Senate in ensuring the recovery of the local swine industry and the attainment of sufficient domestic pork production.”
Interestingly, Malacañang earlier stated that it won’t stop Congress from repelling the EO through a Senate resolution, citing that revocation of an EO is well within the power of the legislative branch.
Under EO 128, the tariff rate for imported pork meat within quota (otherwise referred to as MAV), regardless of whether it is fresh or frozen, will be pegged at 5 percent for the first three months upon the EO’s effectivity and 10 percent for the fourth to 12th month.
The tariff rate for imported meat outside of the MAV, however, has been set to 15 percent for the first three months upon the EO’s effectivity and 20 percent for the fourth to 12th month.
The existing 30 percent to 40 percent tariff rate for imported pork will be restored after the 12th month, the EO states.
The government has attributed the pork supply and pricing problem to the African swine fever (ASF), which significantly wiped out four million hogs amid the COVID-19 pandemic, causing pork supply shortage and high pork prices, particularly in Metro Manila.