Taxing salty foods is just an 'impromptu' response, Duque clarifies

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Saturday clarified that the controversial proposal to impose taxes on food with high salt content is really not on the table but only a "top-of-mind" response to a question raised on how to abate high consumption of salty foods.

During the "In Focus" news forum in Quezon City, Duque said that his and Undersecretary Eric Domingo's answer to reporters if the Department of Health (DOH) is considering tax salty foods was an "impromptu" response.

The Health chief also went on to explain the circumstances when DOH officials initially floated the idea of taxing salty foods.

"Ito ikukuwento ko sa inyo 'yung circumstances nung napag-usapan ito. About last week, early last week, nagkaroon ng pagtitipon ang UNICEF, UNDF, WHO at mga iba pang health civil society organizations," Duque said.

"Isa sa mga presentations na naganap doon... enumerated ano ba ang mga sanhi ng non-communicable diseases. Nakita doon sa presentation na ang labis na asin ang isa sa mga dahilan kung bakit merong mataas na cardiovascular diseases ang Pilipino," he said, noting that Filipinos consume 4.3 grams of salt per day against the Southeast Asian average of 2 grams per day.

Then, he said, reporters began to ask what interventions will be taken or if taxing salty foods will be considered to curb high consumption of salty foods.

"So being vanguards of public health, what do you expect us to say? Ang pangangalagaan natin ang kalusugan at kung may mga ganoong datos siyempre ang top of mind mo [is taxation]... dahil maganda naman ang kinalabasan ng sin tax," he said.

Personally, the Health chief noted, "I don't agree that we should tax daing, tuyo, bagoong."

The Department of Finance early said it is not pushing for imposition of taxes on food with high salt content, but there is an ongoing study on how to lessen the consumption of food with less or zero nutritional value. 

Setting limit on salt content

Among the measures being considered to address high consumption of salty foods is setting a limit on how much salt a food product should contain.

"[Pero] wala pa sa kapangyarihan ng FDA (Food and Drug Administration) iatas, atasan ang mga junk food manufacturing companies na ang salt content ito lang. We don't have that kind of power, unless you amend the law," Duque said.

"The FDA only has the power to enforce labeling but to set the limits, wala," he said.

The Cabinet official said the Food and Drug Administration Act of 2009 should be amended to give powers to the agency to set limits on the salt content of food products.

"Nag-uusap pa lang kami ni [Finance] Secretary (Carlos) Dominguez. I spoke to Usec. Domingo and we will be able to start off the conversations," Duque said.

He noted that Finance chief Dominguez is amenable to setting a limit on the salt content of some food products. —KG, GMA News