Pork prices rising

PDI columnist Cielito Habito wrote in his column yesterday: “Unlike the human COVID-19 pandemic that appears to be behind us, the pig pandemic is still raging and causing tight supplies of pork, leading to continued high prices.

It has been nearly four years since the first outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) was reported in the Philippines. Before the ASF virus rampaged through our major swine-growing areas, pork prices had been steady at P190-P220 per kilo, since at least early 2018 (the earliest price data posted on the Department of Agriculture website). It escalated to P250-P280 by July 2020, P300-P320 by October 2020, and P370-P400 (reaching up to P450) by January 2021. By then, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) had estimated that about a third of the country’s swine population had been decimated by ASF. In July 2022, it was still at P320-P380. As of last week, the DA reported it at P280-P320, with highs still up to P390.”

Buenavista councilor Ronnie Ferrer intimated yesterday the concern of consumers in Guimaras about the rising cost of pork in the island – from the previous P220/kilo to P260 currently. “Next week the price of pork is expected to rise by 20 pesos more.”

Why?

Councilor Ferrer explained, “farmers and traders are shipping their pork to Iloilo City because of higher profits there.”

Because of the ASF which has already been detected in several Iloilo towns, thousands of swine in the province have been decimated. Many farmers in still unaffected towns have either slowed down swine production or have altogether closed shop because of the ASF scare.

So what should Guimaras officials do? Some are suggesting that the Guimaras provincial government thoroughly assess the situation with the end in view of arresting the escalating pork prices for the sake of their lowly constituents.

Easier said than done. The longer ASF lingers the tighter the supply becomes while demand rises. No one can outlaw this fact.

Meanwhile, the provincial government of Negros Occidental allows the shipping of pork, poultry and meat products to others areas of the country but will never allow the same from Iloilo to enter its shores.

Dam and logging

THE giant dam project in Calinog, Iloilo is almost 70 percent complete. According to an insider, the project is actually delayed but the foreign contractor, a Korean company, is not keen on telling the truth about its accomplishment. This prompts certain sectors to ask, is the government strictly monitoring the progress of the construction? What is the National Irrigation Administration doing about it? NIA has millions at its disposal for the information cum public relations campaign for the project. Updates, please?

While we are at it, we also would like to ask what will happen to the thousands of trees including century-old ones that will be logged even before the dam could actually operate in the next 24 months. Is the national government through NIA in charge? Or maybe the responsibility has been delegated to the local government unit of Calinog? Estimates on the value of these trees are in the millions. Will the proceeds go to the government or to some private companies’ pockets?

Publicity stunt

SOME members of the Iloilo provincial board are like showbiz people hungry for publicity and pogi points. Like high-heeled popinjays, they grin from ear to ear while handing out checks for this and that barangay project. How cheap can some of our politicians get? These politicians are not dumb but they choose the easy way for publicity. To them, patronage is the best way to gain public adoration. But we can’t blame them entirely. Handing out government largesse or funds for government projects is part of our political culture. Nobody cares about patronage politics.