Palace exec: PHL moving on from banana row with China

Malacañang indicated Sunday it is keen on moving on from a recent row with China over the entry there of banana exports from the Philippines. Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the entry of Philippine banana exports had been smooth in past days, with a joint-inspection arrangement appearing to be working. “So far we’re making progress dito. Patuloy naman nilang hinahayaan ang pagpasok ng fruit exports," she said on government-run dzRB radio. As of Saturday, she said 190 containers of Philippine bananas had been allowed to pass into the Chinese market. She said the Palace is hopeful this will continue. Valte also insisted the incident is not connected with the month-long standoff between the Philippines and China at Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal. The standoff was triggered last April when Philippine military forces spotted Chinese fishermen gathering marine species but were blocked by Chinese vessels from making arrests. But Valte said China already called the Philippines’ attention to sanitary issues involving the Philippine bananas even before the standoff occurred last April. “If you track the progress of the story, we received a query even before the issue of Bajo de Masinloc (Panatag/Scarborough) happened. That transcends the position, it has always been a phytosanitary issue,” she said. For now, she said the Philippines will conduct additional measures to double-check the exports before they leave the Philippines. A Bureau of Plant Industries team will double-check the fruit exports before they leave, while a joint Philippine-China inspection is in place in China once the fruit arrives there. On the other hand, she said the Philippines will continue looking for other markets for Philippine fruits, one of them being Singapore. “Yes, what we understand from the Department of Agriculture, tuloy ang paghananap ng ibang market para maiwasan ang ganitong pangyayari. Singapore yata ang isang market na tinitingnan natin," she said. — LBG, GMA News