The Senate committee on agriculture and food has called on the government to declare a national state of emergency amid the African swine fever outbreak which has reportedly resulted in about P50 billion in swine industry losses.
The panel, headed by Senator Cynthia Villar, approved a motion issued by Senator Francis Pangilinan for a declaration of a state of emergency Luzon so that public funds may be realigned to address the outbreak.
National Federation of Hog Farmers chairman Chester Warren Tan then suggested the declaration should cover not just Luzon but the entire Philippines.
The senators agreed to the proposal.
Villar also backed a proposal to compensate hog farmers whose pigs get hit by ASF.
“I was telling the Department of Agriculture that they should pay the culling,” she added.
The DA earlier extended the price ceiling on pork and chicken to April 8, citing its effectiveness in preventing price surges, particularly in Metro Manila.
"We will maintain it until April 8. Lifting it will undeniably result in dramatic rise in prices of pork and chicken, given that the African Swine Fever crisis is still raging and thus continues to impact on local production of hogs nationwide," Agriculture secretary William Dar said.
Dar cited the need to augment the current shortfall, estimated at 400,000 metric tons (MT), by stocking up imports from countries free from ASF.
Importation, he said, may temper the rising inflation rate which stood at 4.7 percent in February – the highest in 26 months – as more affordable protein sources become available.
The Agriculture department thumbed down the suggestion of hog raisers to raise the price ceiling given that actual prices remain higher.
"By maintaining it (price ceiling), the government will send a strong signal to Filipino consumers who suffer from lower incomes due to the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our economy, that it does care about their welfare," Dar said.
"Hog producers, wholesalers, and retailers are no less expected to do their share in helping the country’s economic recovery effort," he added.
DA data showed the total hog and carcass deliveries from various regions to Metro Manila have reached 127,868 heads and 823,673 kilograms of carcass from February 8 to March 7, 2021.
Pork shipment to Metro Manila from nearby provinces in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Regions 1, 2, 8, and 13 have been hampered due to insufficient supply of hogs.
As of Sunday, a total of 2,625 hogs and 40,803 kilograms of carcasses from various regions were delivered to Metro Manila.