Lacson to DOH: Propose taxes on unhealthy foods of rich, not on daing

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 the 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.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III said the DOH is going overboard with its plan.

“I think they are now going overboard. Bakit pati pagkain namin gustong pakialaman ng DOH? Ok na sigarilyo at alak, pero what to eat and what not to eat? Sobra na! Mamahalan nila para huwag kami kumain? It's silly!” he said.

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.

“Ano nang kakainin ng pangkaraniwang pamilya—baboy may sakit, manok sobrang mahal, ngayon ipagkakait natin pati tuyo at daing,” she added.

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.

Senator Joel Villanueva said tax could be imposed on too-salty food, but it should not include food that poor people eat.

“Sa ating pananaw, maaari pong patawan ng dagdag na buwis ang mga pagkain na may mataas na salt content dahil isa sa dahilan ng sakit sa puso at alta presyon ang maalat na pagkain,” he said.

“Ngunit, kailangan maging malinaw ang panukala kung saklaw nito ang karaniwang ulam natin tulad ng tuyo at daing dahil marami ang magugutom kapag nagmahal ang presyo nito. Dapat pong pagaralan ang magiging epekto nito sa tinatawag na poor man's food,” 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.

Domingo added that too much salt in the diet could cause hypertension and heart and kidney diseases. —NB/BM, GMA News