Palace sets food summit amid price, agri woes. Inquirer Newsletter. February 11, 2021.

No images? Click here   MEAT OF CONTENTION   Hogs from the Visayas and Mindanao have started to reach Metro Manila—including this batch from South Cotabato province that arrived at a slaughterhouse in Antipolo, Rizal, on Wednesday—as part of the Department of Agriculture’s efforts to ease a pork shortage in the national capital, where meat retailers have staged a “pork holiday” to protest the price ceilings imposed by the government for 60 days. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA       News Vaccine delivery dry run goes well Two 10-year-olds became the youngest of at least 62,500 very young mothers in 2019, a finding that is alarming population monitors who believe that various COVID-19 restrictions might exacerbate child pregnancies in the country. The pandemic has worsened the difficulty of getting prenatal as well as maternal and family planning services, according to the Commission on Population and Development. —STORY BY DONA Z. PAZZIBUGAN Read more: newsinfo.inquirer.net   Regions House probe of fake Cordi fabrics eyed Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda is seeking a House investigation into the sale of machine-made replicas of Cordillera-woven blankets and garments from China in local markets. The inquiry, she said, is for the stronger “protection of the intellectual property rights and cultural heritage of our indigenous peoples.” In Baguio, shop owners and weavers call for a law protecting the native craft from piracy. —STORY BY NESTOR CORRALES AND EV ESPIRITU Read more: newsinfo.inquirer.net/regions   Newsletter / Join us Has this been forwarded by a friend? Subscribe now to the Philippine Daily Inquirer Newsletter and get your latest news and important updates on COVID-19. Subscribe     Feb 11, 3PM   Banner Story Palace sets food summit amid price, agri woes By Jerome Aning, Julie M. Aurelio and Karl R. Ocampo Malacañang on Wednesday said it would convene a food security summit to tackle the spike in pork prices, drop in farm-gate prices of palay, spread of the African swine fever and other issues currently affecting the country’s agriculture sector. The summit will also discuss ways to boost and further develop the agri-fishery sector with the involvement of local government and industry players, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a Viber message. No definite schedule has been set for the meeting, but Roque said the Department of Agriculture (DA) would be the “lead agency.” The Palace announcement came as a “pork holiday” entered its third day on Wednesday after President Duterte imposed price ceilings for 60 days for pork and chicken sold in public markets and supermarkets in Metro Manila, following complaints from consumers of soaring prices of the food items. Under Executive Order No. 124, the price ceiling for pork cuts of “kasim” and “pigue” was set at P270 per kilo, while that for “liempo” was P300. For dressed chicken, the price ceiling was set at P160 per kilo. Economists have warned that the price caps could lead to higher food inflation and hurt the economy in the long run, and might drive producers and retailers out of business. Last month, inflation rose to a two-year high of 4.2 percent, due largely to exorbitant pork prices. Government economic managers are trying to keep inflation at 2 percent to 4 percent this year. Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo, who is also an economist, said on Wednesday that the imposition of a price freeze was “not tenable” and would only “further undermine supply.” At a press conference of the House minority bloc, Quimbo explained that a price cap on meat “will work only if a price floor or minimum buying price is implemented for farm-gate prices, or else the burden ultimately falls on the hog raisers/farmers.” “But price caps at different levels of the value chain would be too difficult and too costly to enforce. We’re better off giving the cash to the farmers,” she said. Quimbo called for a mixture of policy responses, such as cash assistance for farmers and hog raisers affected by calamities and the African swine fever. “That money will be added capital for them to ensure that they can continue their farming, hog raising or poultry raising. The important thing is the supply will continue,” she said. “If supply dwindles, prices go up. Less supply disruptions, less price spikes,” Quimbo said. The lawmaker said she had no single solution to price inflation. “We need a toolkit. We need coherent, coordinated policies to avoid prolonged inflation and work toward food security,” she said. Food security plan Roque said the summit would also seek to present some models for agribusiness value-chain approach, local government-led agri-fishery extension system, and strengthen the role and capacities of local price coordinating councils and regional development councils. He said a national food security plan would be drawn up to achieve “our vision of a food-secure and resilient Philippines with prosperous farmers and fisherfolk, and where consumers have continuous flow of food and producers have continuous productivity, unhampered movement of agricultural commodities, accessibility and price stability.” On Wednesday, the DA reported that poultry prices ranged from P170 to P190 per kilo against the price ceiling of P160. Citing higher production costs and tightening supply, chicken raisers had asked the government for a higher price ceiling of P185. But Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the industry did not need incentives. “There is sufficient supply” of chicken, he said, without providing the data the DA collected regularly. Broiler inventory A report from the Philippine Statistics Authority released this week showed that the country’s broiler inventory fell to 53.27 million birds as of January—the lowest in 11 years. Since the pandemic hit the Philippines, poultry production has contracted for the first time after growing at an average of 4 percent annually. The Cabinet-level Committee on Tariff and Related Matters has asked the Tariff Commission to increase import ceilings and cut tariffs on pork. Rice and broiler producers fear the government would do the same to chicken. Bong Inciong, president of the United Broilers Raisers Association (Ubra), said a glut in poultry meat last year led to a slowdown in production and a shortage of day-old chicks. From P16 before the pandemic, a day-old chick is now sold for P52. The slowdown also prompted farmers to stop production of corn for animal feed after their crops were destroyed by a series of typhoons. In Isabela and Cagayan provinces, corn farmers have also shifted to cassava planting. Corn feed prices Prices of corn feed rose from P14 a kilo to P17 a kilo, while soya, previously priced at P23 a kilo, is now sold at P29 a kilo. International reports projected that it might even reach a high of P34 a kilo. “The reality is that supply has severely contracted,” Inciong said. “Those who have growing stocks now may suffer if forced to sell at a loss as costs are escalating. They may end up not loading for the next cycle if they think the risk of not earning would be too high.” He said poultry raisers were not planning a “chicken holiday” because this would only hurt both producers and consumers. Members of Ubra are also open to importation to augment the poultry shortfall. But they stressed that tariffs must not be lowered. “This would rob the industry of revenues that may be used to help domestic players,” Inciong said. “Right now, we are just waiting for Dar to reveal his actual plan.” Commercial operator San Miguel Corp. has decided to sell its hog and poultry products at breakeven cost to allow resellers to meet the government’s price cap. The majority of the country’s local suppliers, however, are backyard farmers, most of whom cannot afford to sell at the same price. Read more: newsinfo.inquirer.net   Editorial A ‘fishing expedition’ Trumped-up charges and sloppy case work have no place in the judicial system. That's the stern reminder once again served the Philippine National Police when Mandaluyong City Judge Monique Quisumbing-Ignacio threw out last week the illegal possession of firearms and explosives case the PNP had lodged against journalist Lady Ann Salem and trade unionist Rodrigo Esparago. She also declared "null and void" for lack of probable cause the search warrant issued by Judge Cecilyn Burgos-Villavert of Quezon City RTC Branch 89. The warrant "suffered from vagueness," noted Ignacio, because it did not "specify with sufficient particularity the laptop and cellphone to be seized... They [the police] undertook a 'fishing expedition to seize and confiscate' any and all cellphones and laptop they found in the premises." Thus, all of the evidence collected were deemed inadmissible and the records expunged. The PNP's latest embarrassment testifies to its propensity for shortcuts and faulty case buildups in its zeal to go after those it deems enemies. In October last year, Judge Amelia Lourdes Mendoza of the Negros Oriental RTC Branch 334 likewise rapped the appalling misbehavior by law enforcers against five suspects whose cases the judge determined to have been fabricated by agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency. Mendoza's ruling contained ringing reminders not only for her colleagues in the judiciary, but, more pointedly, for the police force: "Mere expediency was never intended as an excuse for constitutional shortcuts, which are abhorrent to the rule of law ideals defining constitutionalism in this country," she said. The police better take heed, or it will continue to suffer humiliations before the country's conscientious courts. Read full story: opinion.inquirer.net   Copyright © 2020 PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: P.O. Box 2353, Makati Central Post Office, 1263 Makati City, Philippines.   Share    Tweet    Share    Forward  Preferences  |  Unsubscribe