Senators to oppose DOH plan to tax food with too much salt

Senators expressed opposition Thursday on the plan of the Department of Health to propose imposing taxes on food with high salt content including tuyo and daing.

Senator Panfilo Lacson said he will not support such proposal and will even oppose it.

“Patawarin sana nila mga pagkain ng mahihirap. If the issue is health, DOH should focus their research on the unhealthy foods of the rich and affluent. I’m sure there are many,” Lacson said in a text message to GMA News Online.

Minority Leader Franklin Drilon replied a short “no” when asked if he would support the DOH plan.

Senator Imee Marcos said the DOH should tax the big companies instead of picking on the food of the poor people.

“Pagkain ng mahirap ang tuyo at daing! ‘Wag naman! Bakit hindi i-tax ang malalaking kumpanya ng telco, mga minahan na hindi naman sumusunod sa batas, mga big time importer ng langis at iba pa. Minsanan koleksyon, malakihan pa,” she said.

Senator Francis Tolentino said he would also not support the proposal because salt is needed to maintain proper fluid balance and  relax muscle fibers.

“Although too much of everything is bad –salt is not bad per se. Kung pati daing ita-tax, kawawa lalo na ang mahihirap na mangingisda!” he said.

Senator Aquilino Pimentel III said the proposal should be studied well first.

"We need to study that very well because the tax might be imposed on food items consumed by the poorer sections of our society," he said.

"But tax on junk food, I am very open to that. Just define junk food very well," he added.

DOH spokesperson and Undersecretary Eric Domingo earlier said there’s nothing concrete yet but they are studying the possibility of taxing food with too much salt.

He said the experience of several countries showed that taxing on unhealthy food led to reduced consumption and pushed companies to reformulate their products. He added too much salt in the diet could cause hypertension, heart and kidney diseases. —LBG, GMA News