A group of meat manufacturers has expressed alarm over what it called a well-orchestrated but subtle attempt by vested groups to provoke a crisis and destabilize the economy by spreading false or misleading information and blame the Department of Agriculture for it.
In a letter sent to Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar on June 18, the Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. said such groups have been lobbying with the DA and politicians to ban the importation of meat products and have gone all-out to the media to present their demands.
PAMPI said the vested groups of poultry producers were criticizing the importation of raw materials which in the first place has enabled members of PAMPI to produce processed meat products that fed millions of Filipinos during the enhanced community quarantine period.
"In our case, we present our position to the proper regulatory agencies such as the Bureau of Animal Industry, the National Meat Inspection Service or the Food and Drug Administration as the case may be. But when our case is sustained as in the case of the MDM importation, we hear malicious insinuations of graft allegedly in connivance with regulatory officials," PAMPI president Felix O. Tiukinhoy Jr. said in the letter.
"We are a transparent and straightforward organization and we do not condone graft. But we deplore bullying of officials in the DA, BAI, NMIS or any regulatory body for that matter who are unable to answer back because norms of government conduct require them not only to be not onion-skinned but also to exercise maximum tolerance as well," Tiukinhoy said.
PAMPI clarified that it has no issue with the meat importation data from the Philippine Statistics Authority which were presented to the Department of Agriculture.
"We also use the same data to argue our case. But we do have divergent conclusions arising from such data. It’s a chicken-and-egg situation which should be addressed dispassionately by all stakeholders," PAMPI said.
Tiukinhoy said PAMPI members undertook initiatives and interventions to make governance more tolerable for the people during these difficult times.
"Since March when ECQ was declared, the meat product imports that are being demanded to be banned by a group of poultry lobbyists enabled our industry to produce processed meat products that feed millions of our people up to today even as we write you this letter," he said.
"Covid-19 and the ECQ that followed put all businesses at a standstill, including our industry. However, at the behest of the national government through IATF, we were asked to produce whatever we could to stock the national food relief program. So instead of furloughing our employees, we asked them to report for work to man the production lines at the risk of being infected by the disease," said Tiukinhoy.
He said that during the 90-day period ending May, PAMPI processing plants produced an unprecedented volume of 256.2 million cans of shelf-stable products that were distributed by national relief agencies, LGUs and volunteer groups throughout the country.
"In addition, some 3.7 million kilograms of frozen processed meat items were also produced and distributed through various channels. The canned goods which are the main items in the food relief packs along with rice, are produced by only 5 of our members because they are the only ones presently equipped with canning facilities for meat processing," Tiukinhoy said.
These are Century Pacific Food Inc., CDO Foodsphere Inc., Sunpride Foods Inc., Virginia Food Inc. and Lami Foods/Gold Ribbon Group. Other PAMPI members supported the interventions by painstakingly producing frozen meat items and dry goods which were distributed to markets or donated to depressed areas.
These include Frabelle Corp., RFM Corp., Foodcrafters Inc., Pampanga’s Best, RL Lapid Food Corp., PL Aguila Manufacturing Corp., Max’s Group and Leslie Corp.
Tiukinhoy said PAMPI members also donated more than P120 million in financial assistance to needy LGUs, distressed communities and frontliners.
"Indeed, we want to humbly say that the meats that are being sought to be banned have become part of the solution that prevented food riots from happening which critics of the government had wished for," he said.
"We hope we have given you some insights and we trust that you will appreciate our position on crucial agricultural and trade issues," PAMPI said in the letter to Dar.