Gov't to lose P11B in proposed cut on pork import tariffs —Pangilinan

The government stands to lose P11 billion in revenue if the tariff on pork imports would be reduced from 30% to 5%, Senator Francis Pangilinan has said.

"Ang estima namin mga P11 billion [Our estimate is P11 billion]," Pangilinan told the media on how much the government could lose if the proposed reduction on pork import tariffs pushes through in response to the problem of African swine fever (ASF) in the country.

"At ‘yung taripa, ang layunin nyan [ay] para ‘yung industriya na apektado [ng ASF] ay pwedeng gamitin ‘yung pondo para mabigyan ng suporta,” he added.

[The purpose of the tariff is to provide assistance to industries affected by ASF.]

Pangilinan said that at the current 30% in-quota tariff and assuming the minimum access volume (MAV) for pork imports is increased, the collections for imported frozen carcass would be at P13.8 billion.

However, if the tariff is reduced to 5%, the collection would go down to only P2.3 billion, translating to a difference of P11.5 billion.

Loss in tariff revenue would also mean that the source of financial support for the domestic hog raisers would be reduced, Pangilinan said.

Earlier, the senator filed a resolution urging President Rodrigo Duterte to declare a state of calamity nationwide due to the severe impact of the ASF on the swine industry.

Eventually, the Senate approved the resolution, which also expresses the chamber's opposition to the proposed reduction of the tariff rates and the increase in MAV of imported pork products.

The declaration of a state of calamity would address the lack of funds of the Department of Agriculture (DA) for the ASF outbreak response.

"Ang sinasabi ng DA, P2.6 billion lang ang pondo nila ngayon for 2021 sa African swine fever. Ang budget nila na estima nila para matugunan ito ay halos mahigit P8 billion. So may halos P6 billion na kulang,” he said.

[The DA said they only have P2.6 billion for 2021 on African swine fever. They estimated a budget of over P8 billion to address this problem. So there is a shortfall of almost P6 billion.]

Pangilinan likewise suggested that hog raisers affected by the ASF problem be given cash for work opportunities.

Aside from Pangilinan's resolution, the Senate also adopted another resolution calling on the Committee of the Whole to conduct an investigation into the food security crisis in the country brought about by the ASF problem. —LBG, GMA News