THE PHILIPPINES will soon impose a lower tariff on imported food to temper domestic prices as oil shocks persist, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Monday, April 13.
Marcos neither provided the new rate nor the start of its implementation, but said that the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Tariff Commission were already ordered to roll out the policy.
“Malinaw ang directive na ito. Hindi ito puwedeng gawing basta-basta. Bawat hakbang, malinaw ang proteksyon sa ating lokal na produksyon,” he said in a Palace press conference.
He added: “Poprotektahan natin ang mga consumer, ang mga magsasaka, at ng industriya. ‘Yan ang ating hinahanap na balanse. Dahil kung – everything… as you know, the economy is a complicated system. Kaya’t kung may gagawin ka sa isang bahagi, may epekto ‘yun sa kabilang bahagi,” he said.
Adjustments are also being done in Philippine ports to fast track the entry of more food supply, the President said.
“Kasabay nito, pabibilisin na rin ang pagpoproseso ng mga permit tulad ng SPSIC, Certificate of Necessity to Import para mas mabilis makapasok ang kinakailangang pagkain at mas mababa ang magiging halaga,” he said. “Inalis na rin ang toll fee sa mga fish port upang hindi na ito makadagdag sa presyo nung mga – nung ating mga pagkain.”
For domestic produce, the government will be procuring excess harvest from farmers to ensure that crops that are not being delivered to markets due to steep oil prices will not go to waste, Marcos said.
The President said the government is also looking to expand its P20 per kilo rice program. (ABS-CBN News)
