"File cases against them, please."
Yesterday, I was invited by former Candaba Mayor Jerry Pelayo, who has just been appointed as National Coordinator for the Department of Agriculture’s Bantay-Presyo, to accompany him and his team as they inspected of two of the largest public markets in Quezon City: Mega Q-Mart and the Commonwealth Public Market.
The purpose was to monitor if indeed the supply of pork is really adequate as the heads of the Bureau of Animal Industry and the National Meat Inspection Service have assured him during an earlier meeting. He also wanted to see if vendors are complying with the price ceiling as imposed by the government.
To address the pork shortage in Luzon brought about by the African Swine Fever, the DA has ordered shipment of hogs from ASF-free areas in Mindanao and Visayas. Agriculture Secretary William Dar has even personally sent-off some hog shipment from Mindanao for Manila.
To further assist pork vendors to cope with the price ceiling, the DA even coaxed Metro Manila mayors to replicate Caloocan City Mayo Oca Malapitan’s move to waive market stall rentals until pork prices normalize.
However, even before the market inspection early morning Wednesday, Pelayo had already been warned that hog shipments intended for Metro Manila were being diverted to nearby areas, specifically Bulacan and Pampanga where there no price ceilings are in effect.
And true enough, in yesterday’s inspection, no stall was selling any pork in Commonwealth Market except maybe for one. So, where was the hog shipment intended for this particular market?
An official for the BAI – I forgot to get his name — said they suspect it had been diverted to other areas. But when asked who should be held responsible for the diversion, he just could not give any categorical statement. Pressured into answering the question, he finally gave in and said it’s the traders, but quickly added they cannot be blamed because they’re businessmen wanting to maximize their profits.
What’s that again? They cannot be blamed for their actions?
Sorry sir but I beg to disagree. When the hog shipment left its port of origin, there was a bill of lading signed between the shipper and the carrier which states the specific recipient of the cargo.
So, if the hog shipment is intended for Metro Manila, it should have been received by someone authorized by the DA to do so.
But when the shipment had been diverted to areas other than the intended recipient, resulting in an artificial shortage which pushes the prices upward, isn’t this tantamount to economic sabotage? And yet, these traders, just because they’re businessmen wanting to maximize their profits, cannot be blamed?
I just can’t believe how some people think.
It was even a direct insult to them as the inspection had been announced and yet these traders even had the temerity to divert the shipment at the last minute. Or were they really acting solely on their own?
I mean, if the DA, though other agencies under it, had arranged for the hog shipment, who then has the authority to have them diverted?
Just asking.
Anyway, to arrest the issue, Pelayo, said they will coordinate with the LGUs through the Department of Interior and Local Government to compel their respective market administrators to come up with their projected pork requirement, issue corresponding Purchase Orders and designate specific slaughterhouses to which these stocks will be delivered
“In that way, stocks coming from Mindanao and Visayas will be ordered to ship directly to the predetermined slaughterhouses, thereby, avoiding the shipments from being diverted to other areas,” said Pelayo.
“If still livestock deliveries are diverted, we can then easily pinpoint who are the culprits behind this scheme,” he added.
And file cases against them, please.