Bongbong, Sara want to end runaway pork prices

The Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte tandem said Sunday that it will seek to stop soaring pork prices that add to the burdens of millions of Filipino families.

"High pork prices are a drain in the budget of Filipino households. Simply put, the issue in pork prices is mainly due to a supply problem that was worsened by the onslaught of the African swine fever (ASF)," the the BBM-Sara UniTeam said in a statement.

To end this runaway pork prices, it will roll out a plan that includes "investments in research and development, direct technical assistance to hog raisers, and provision of loans."

It added that it is eyeing to promote local government unit-led agriculture initiatives.

"We are now in the process of crafting an agriculture blueprint that will provide long-term assistance to our local hog industry and hasten their recovery from the impact of the ASF and the COVID-19 pandemic," the UniTeam said.

In addition, it said it is  even seeking to "look beyond lower pork prices through importation" by creating a solid plan to revitalize the hog-raising sector.

"This early, we need to craft a solid plan to revitalize our hog-raising sector and help them grow the local hog population after the havoc caused by the African swine fever (ASF),"  the BBM-Sara camp pointed out.

Last year, the Department of Agriculture said the Rodrigo Duterte administration is allotting a total of P42.8 billion for lending to backyard and commercial hog raisers in ASF-free areas through the Land Bank of the Philippines. 

Under its hog repopulation program, the DA said it has now distributed 8,169 sentinel pigs to 3,061 farmer-beneficiaries in 312 ASF-free barangays. —LBG, GMA News