Ping on possibility of Duterte recalling ‘killer’ EO: Well and good if it happens

Well and good if it actually happens.

This was Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s response to the possibility of President Rodrigo Duterte recalling the controversial Executive Order 128 that threatens to kill an already dying hog-raising industry.

Lacson had called on Duterte to reconsider and recall the EO, which temporarily brought down import duties on pork products. On Tuesday, Malacanang said Duterte was ready to listen to senators on the issue.

“Well and good if it actually happens. It would mean that the President is not impervious to valid criticisms against an ill-advised course of action that will bring more harm than good on all practical aspects involving the hog industry,” Lacson said in a statement on Wednesday.

“I hope the President considers the plight of the dying industry affecting 80,000 backyard hog raisers along with hundreds of thousands of farmhands and their families – and the foregone revenues the government will deal with, especially at this time of the pandemic,” he added.

Also, Lacson pointed out Department of Agriculture officials claimed during Monday’s Senate hearing that they based their action on their own analysis.

Yet, he said this “could be self-serving and designed to suit their purpose,” he said.

In contrast, he said the senators “based our opposition and arguments on the data provided by the Philippine Statistics Authority.”

“If you ask me, I’ll take the side of data anytime,” Lacson said.

“DA officials claim their analysis says there’s pork shortage and allowed importation of 200 million kilos every year from 2018-2020. The PSA data indicate there was local production surplus of 400 million kilos per year. I’ll side with data. Analysis can be self-serving,” Lacson noted in a post on his Twitter account Wednesday morning.

DA officials claim their analysis says there’s pork shortage and allowed importation of 200 million kilos every year from 2018-2020. The PSA data indicate there was local production surplus of 400 million kilos per year. I’ll side with data. Analysis can be self-serving.

— PING LACSON (@iampinglacson) April 13, 2021

“Thus – with an average yearly surplus of 400 million kilos from local hog production for the three-year period 2018-2020, it defies logic why they still allowed the importation of almost 200 million kilos year-on-year for the same period,” Lacson stressed.

Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)