Senator Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday asked the Senate to investigate alleged anomalies involving billions of pesos in “tong-pats” hounding the importation of pork meat, saying this could kill the local swine industry that is already reeling from the effects of the African swine fever.
He claimed that a syndicate operating within the Department of Agriculture stands to gain billions of pesos from the DA’s recommendation to lower tariff rates on imported pork production and increase the minimum access volume to augment local supply.
The anomalies, Lacson said, will amount to a triple whammy that threatens to kill the domestic hog industry, raises health concerns and costs the government forgone 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.
“I want to see even a whiff of enthusiasm from the President to order the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission 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 said he has already spoken with Senate President Vicente Sotto III on his proposal to start a probe.
“COVID capitalism vs. COVID humanitarianism. In theory, the choice is clear. Unscrupulous people have another choice: COVID corruption. On their day of reckoning, they will burn in hell,” Lacso said.
The senator said Agriculture Secretary William Dar should know or at least have heard of the shenanigans within his department, particularly in the MAV Management Committee that is composed of the Bureau of Animal Industry and the National Meat Inspection Service.
“This practice has been going on for several years now. For example, between June and October 2018, imported pork from banned countries due to the ASF like Belgium, Hungary, Germany and China flooded the local market which prompted the issuance of a memorandum order by then DA Secretary Emmanuel Piñol,” he said.
Lacson also cited a letter from the Agricultural Sector Alliance of the Philippines (AGAP) party-list to Sotto on behalf of 80,000 backyard hog raisers, raising concern on the DA’s proposed increase in pork meat importation by expanding the MAV.
AGAP president Nicanor Briones said importing 400,000 metric tons may cause an oversupply nationwide, while cutting tariff rates may cost the government some P13.95 billion in revenues.
Lacson said if the tariff for importations is brought down and the MAV is increased, the syndicate can jack up its “tong-pats” from the current P5-7 to P10-15 per kilo — easily earning P4 to 6 billion from the 400,000 MT allocation.