Press Release - Tolentino vows better protection for PH poultry raisers, stronger measures vs meat smuggling

Senate Majority Leader Francis 'Tol' Tolentino on Thursday pledged to address the concerns of small and medium-scale poultry raisers by pushing for additional support for the domestic industry, and stronger measures against the smuggling of imported meat products.

In his regular radio program, 'Usapang Tol,' the senator agreed with Gregorio San Diego, Chairperson of the United Broiler Raisers Association (UBRA), that more can be done to curb the smuggling of imported meat, which is marginalizing local producers.

San Diego noted that aside from the 480 million kilos of frozen chicken that will be imported next year and 470 million kilos this year, local producers have been railing against the unabated smuggling of imported meat.

Tolentino shared San Diego's concern, saying, "We need to understand the root cause of this problem. I will discuss this with Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco Laurel. He is very considerate and understands your situation."

The senator added that he has been invited to speak at the DA's observance of the 31st Meat Safety Consciousness Week, where he plans to take up the matter with Laurel.

Related to this, San Diego asked the senator to look into how authorities had been disposing of seized smuggled meat.

The senator strongly agreed, stressing that the contraband must not be allowed to enter the market. He also suggested for specialized agencies, like the National Nutrition Council, to step in to evaluate the safety and nutritional value of frozen imported meat products, including those that had been in cold storage for months or even years before being sold locally.

He likewise acknowledged San Diego's concern on the urgency of setting up a first border facility to screen imported meats for safety and diseases.

To recall, the lack of a first border facility was identified by a Senate inquiry last month as among the factors that led to the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the country.

The Senate inquiry was prompted by Senate Resolution 565 filed by Tolentino, which called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to declare a national state of calamity to address the ASF outbreak, in view of the latter's widespread effect