Hog raisers rallied outside the Department of Agriculture (DA) along Elliptical Road on Friday, calling on the government to prioritize local producers and raise tariffs on imported pork to address mounting industry losses.
According to a report by RH Val Gonzales, leaders of various hog-raising groups, joined by Rep. Nicanor Briones of the AGAP Party-list, urged the government to act immediately, warning that continued pork imports were driving down local prices and forcing producers out of business.
One protester said hog raisers were losing about 150 million pesos daily and called for an executive order restoring higher tariffs on imported pork instead of waiting until January 2027.
“Kung paaabutin pa natin sa January [2027] ang pagbalik sa taripa ay wala nang magbababoy, libo-libong mawawalan ng trabaho,” the protester said.
Fritz Chua, president of the Philippine Pork Council, said food security should be a key consideration in the government's policies on pork imports.
“Food security ang ating layunin at yun ang dapat nilang sagutin,” Chua said.
Hog raisers from Batangas also appealed for an end to excessive pork imports, saying many producers in the province, one of the country's major hog-producing areas, had already stopped operations because of mounting losses.
A representative from Batangas said the provincial council had passed a resolution urging the DA to stop the sale of imported pork in the province. Other local government units and provinces had also approved similar resolutions, the representative said.
“Ang mga lider ng sektor ay last year pa nakikipagusap sa iba’t-ibang ahensiya ng gobyerno. We have exhausted all our options.”
Hog raisers from Mindanao echoed the same concerns, saying cheap imported pork had pushed down local prices and threatened their livelihoods, along with those of corn and rice farmers.
“Ang problema namin sa Mindanao parehas lang din dito [sa Luzon], ang baba ng presyo dahil sa imported na karne,” the protester said.
“Panawagan namin kung pwede, itigil ang importasyon para mabuhay naman kami, ang magbababoy kasama yung mag-mamais at magpapalay,” he added.
They called on the government to halt pork imports to give local producers a chance to recover and sustain domestic production.
