THE House Committee on Agriculture and Food chaired by Quezon Rep. Wilfrido Mark Enverga and the Committee on Trade and Industry chaired by Navotas City Rep. John Reynald Tiangco, in a joint online hearing Thursday, continued their inquiry into the rising prices of agricultural commodities, especially pork and vegetables.
The inquiry was based on House Resolution 987 introduced by MAGSASAKA Party-list Rep. Argel Joseph Cabatbat; HR 1495 by Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas; HRs 1504 and 1505 by AGAP Party-list Rep. Rico Geron; HR 1512 by Marikina City Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo; HR 1515 by Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter “Companero” Cayetano; HR 1522 by Speaker Lord Allan Velasco; HR 1526 by Parañaque City Rep. Joy Myra Tambunting; HR 1556 by BAYAN MUNA Party-list Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate; and HR 1587 by GABRIELA Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas.
In his opening remarks, Enverga said the inquiry would focus on what was really the score on pork importation and the status of the Department of Agriculture’s intervention programs to ease the suffering of the livestock sector “because there seems to be a disparity in the situation on the ground.”
Enverga said the joint panel also was informed during the last hearing that chillers would be provided to selected public markets in the National Capital Region (NCR).
“Ano na po ang status ng programang ito,” he said.
“While we acknowledge the efforts of the government to ensure food supply stability and curb inflation, Congress remains vigilant and continues to monitor the impact of government interventions to ease prices of agricultural commodities,” he said.
For his part, Tiangco said the DA should prioritize its comprehensive study on the price structure of agricultural commodities to determine the appropriate interventions needed. Agriculture Undersecretary Fermin Adriano gave a presentation on what the DA is doing regarding the rising prices of food commodities and fertilizer.
The presentation included topics such as the inflation rates of selected food items from January to October 2021; the monthly global fertilizer prices from September 2020 to September 2021; and the Philippine inflation rate from January to October 2021, among others. Adriano also discussed the main reason for rising inflation and what the DA is doing to address the prices of agricultural commodities.
Among the issues tackled during the hearing were the reduction of tariff on corn importation, the organic fertilizer program, and the budget for the chillers, among others. Also discussed were the minimum access volume plus (MAV Plus) scheme for imported pork meat.
