Lacson seeks Senate probe on 'tongpats' on pork imports

Senator Panfilo Lacson is calling for a Senate investigation into the alleged activities of a syndicate within the Department of Agriculture (DA) which could possibly gain billions of pesos in "tongpats" or padded costs from the recommendation to reduce tariff rates and increase minimum access volume (MAV) allocation on pork imports.

Lacson on Tuesday said that alleged anomalies are tantamount to a "triple whammy" as they not only threaten to kill the local hog industry but at the same raise health concerns and cost the government foregone revenues.

“We should unmask who is/are behind this scheme no matter how powerful and influential he may be with this administration," the senator said in a radio interview.

"I want to see even a whiff of enthusiasm from the President to order the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) and other concerned agencies to investigate, not to mention heed the call of the Senate to disapprove the DA’s recommendation to reduce the tariff and increase the volume of pork importation. Let’s see,” he added.

Lacson also said that he already talked to Senate President Vicente Sotto III to allow the Senate to look into these allegations and get the documents they need.

"So far, we have received documents from the Bureau of Customs and DA. Still, we need more data to get to the bottom of the anomaly,” he said.

Lacson, during Monday's Senate session, revealed that there have been reports of unscrupulous individuals imposing "tongpats" or padded costs amounting to P5 to P7 per kilo of imported pork.

He said padded costs may significantly increase if the tariffs on pork imports are reduced and the MAV allocation is increased.

"Kung may [padded cost] na P5 to P7 per kilo, logical na tataas din ang tongpats kasi tataas ang profit," he said during his interpellation on the resolution.

("If there is a padded cost of P5 to P7 per kilo, it's logical to say that the padded cost will further increase because the profit will increase.")

"If simultaneously with the reduction of tariffs iaakyat ang volume from 54,000 metric tons to something like 400,000 metric tons, bukod sa malaki ang magiging foregone revenues, on the other hand the resultant effect is a tremendous increase in [padded cost]," he added.

("If simultaneously with the reduction of tariffs the MAV will be increased from 54,000 metric tons to something like 400,000 metric tons, aside from having higher foregone revenues, the resultant effect, on the other hand, is a tremendous increase in padded cost.")

Lacson said that the said practice has been ongoing for several years now. In fact, he said that between June and October 2018, imported pork from banned countries due to the problem of African swine fever has flooded the local market.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar should know or at least have heard about this supposed issue within his department, Lacson said, along with the MAV Management Committee headed by Acting Undersecretary William Medrano and composed of the Bureau of Animal Industry and the National Meat Inspection Service.

"While I do not doubt Sec. Dar’s personal integrity, being able to lead and rein in the people of his department, or his resolve to say no to pressure from influential individuals is another matter," Lacson said.

"The bottomline is, we should remain vigilant to expose and fight corruption whenever it comes to our attention because in the long term it is the great majority of Filipinos, present and future, who will suffer from the self-aggrandizement and greed of some," he added.

Responding to Lacson's revelations, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said that President Rodrigo Duterte would have this issue investigated.

"Ang importante ngayon po, wala pong makaka-deny na iyong kakulangan ng supply ang dahilan kung bakit napakataas ng presyo ng baboy. At wala rin pong makaka-deny na iyong pag-aangkat ng baboy ay isang major solution doon sa kakulangan ng baboy," he said.

("What's important for now is no one can deny that the shortage of pork supplies is the reason for the high pork prices. And no one can also deny that the pork importation is a major solution to address the shortage of supply.")

"Pero I’m sure patitingnan po ng Presidente kung ang importation ay dapat bang sa pamamaraan ng MAV or sa ordinaryong pag-i-import na lamang," he added.

("But I'm sure the President will ask authorities to check if the importation should be done through MAV or through ordinary importation only.")

The Senate on Monday adopted a resolution urging President Rodrigo Duterte to declare a state of calamity in the entire country amid the threat of the ASF.

The same resolution also expresses the chamber's opposition to the proposed reduction of the tariff rates and the increase in MAV of imported pork products.

Lacson likewise introduced an amendment to the resolution to call on the PACC to investigate the issue on "tongpats."—AOL, GMA News