The country’s salt industry now has a law of its own, meant to rejuvenate and strengthen this “dying” trade.
President Marcos enacted on Mar. 11 Republic Act No 11985, also known as “Philippine Salt Industry Development Act” primarily crafted to redeem the salt industry from the brink of extinction.
Senator Cynthia Villar on Sunday thanked the President for the new law, saying it will save the country’s salt industry.
Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez also said RA 11985 is a crucial step forward in advancing the development and modernization of the salt industry.
“The ultimate goal is to facilitate sustainable production that could potentially lead to salt exportation, contributing to the country’s economic growth,” Romualdez said in a statement.
The signing into law of RA No. 11985 was seen as attuned to the administration’s “overarching agenda to foster rural development and bolster rural incomes.”
It is expected to “establish a comprehensive roadmap to implement programs, projects and interventions for the development and management, research, processing, utilization, business modernization and commercialization of the Philippine salt.”
“This backing encompasses appropriate technology, research, financial assistance, as well as support services in production and marketing tobreathe new life into the salt industry, ramp up production, attain self-sufficiency in salt, and position the Philippines as a notable salt exporter,” observers noted.
The salt law also embodies serious concerns over environmental preservation and rehabilitation amid developmental endeavors.
To achieve these goals, a detailed plan for the Philippine Salt Industry must be created. This blueprint will help achieve the objectives of the law and align with Republic Act No. 8172, also known as An Act for Salt Iodization Nationwide or “ASIN.”
Central to the salt roadmap is the “Salt Council” chaired by the Department of Agriculture, which will drive the modernization of the Philippine salt industry.
Under the council’s leadership, the Department of Trade and Industry Secretary is tasked as the vice-chair. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) will pick nominees from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao for the Salt Council representatives.
Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, was principal sponsor of the bill in the upper chamber.
She said this is also a “prayer heard” from the sector’s workers and stakeholders who have been appealing to revitalize the salt industry.
With this development, she said all coastal communities will once again be able to produce salt. Villar also noted that the law will address the expansion of the current salt farms concentrated in the provinces of Pangasinan and Occidental Mindoro.
“The Department of Environment and Natural Resources and BFAR are mandated to map out, identify, and designate public lands, including portions of municipal waters, as salt production areas within 60 days from the passage of this Act,” said Villar.
“Apart from the thousands of new jobs that this law will create, the income of our farmers will also increase,” Agri Party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee said in Filipino.
“Our work does not end with the signing of this measure into law. We need to ensure its proper and effective implementation,” he added.
Aside from encouraging investments and increasing local salt production through the expansion of existing and idle salt farms, Lee said the law will boost capacity building for salt farmers and strengthen market linkages.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) shall ensure that salt is a priority commodity to be produced locally.
The measure classifies salt as an aquatic resource product and shall be exempt from all taxes.
The DA-National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, in close coordination with the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization, shall spearhead the development of the latest technology in salt production particularly technology that allows year-round production of salt even under erratic weather patterns.