Senators, economic team reach compromise on MAV, but not on tariff

Senators and President Duterte’s economic team have reached a compromise on lowering the targeted volume of the country’s pork importations but could not as yet settle the issue on lowering the tariff rates cited in Executive Order 128, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said yesterday.

Sotto said senators and the economic team led by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III continue to discuss a compromise to protect the interests of local producers of pork and hog raisers.

“On the issue on MAV (minimum access volume), they (economic managers) are willing (to accept the senators’ proposal) but they agreed to 254,000 metric tons,” Sotto said in an interview over dwIZ.

President Duterte approved the proposal of his economic team to raise the MAV on pork imports from 54,000 MT to 400,000 MT to arrest the increasing prices of pork in the country. But senators said the importation of large volumes of frozen pork would affect local hog raisers.

Sotto said the economic managers have a different perspective on the issue of tariff rates, which they said could affect inflation.

“So we brought back the issue to them and they have a counter-offer based on a computation towards the basis for inflation. We will discuss the issue through the all senators’ caucus on Monday,” he added.

Senators are pushing to lower the 40 percent tariff rates to 20 percent and the 30 percent to 15 percent, which could be acceptable to local pork producers and hog raisers, he noted.

Sotto hopes the senators and economic managers could reach an agreement before May 17, when Congress resumes session.

“I don’t want a confrontation to happen on May 17. If we don’t come to an agreement, I can’t stop any senator or congressman from filing a resolution and maybe remove the delegated power given to the President. I don’t want to get there,” he stressed.