By Mortz C.
Ortigoza
BAYAMBANG – A
Philippine senator sees challenges instead of threat to the dawning of the
Asian Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) in January this year.
Senator Alan Peter
Cayetano said that there is an opportunity that comes in every problem that
crops up.
‘Katulad noon
pagbabago may opportunity may danger. Ang buong bansa nag lagay ng safety net.
Halimbawa iyong bawang, noong galing ako sa Ilocos sinabi nga nila na maraming
bawang research ngayon sa genetic fortification din to make sure na mas gaganda
and malaki at mas malasa siya,” he stressed.
AFTA has an
almost non-tariff exchanges of products within the 10 members Association of
South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
These countries
are the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam are voting members while Papua New
Guinea is an observer in the body.
Abono
Party-list Chair and Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura’s chairman Rosendo So
downplayed the fear of farmers that onions and garlic that are products of this
town would be affected by AFTA. He said these crops in the country have an edge
against onions and garlic in the ASEAN members. Engineer So cited that cheap
onion and garlic that proliferate in the market are from China while cheap meats
like pork are from the United States and European countries.
He said AFTA
has nothing to do with these smuggled products.
He cited that
to put a stop on this malpractice, the government should put a plug on smuggling of these products in the Mindanao areas.
One of the
products however affected in the country by AFTA is sugar cane, according to
the administrator of the Sugar Regulatory Administration.
Ma. Regina Bautista-Martin said that in her case study, “Pump-priming
for a Stronger, Globally Competitive Sugarcane Industry: Through the Sugarcane
Industry Development Fund”, that despite the contribution of P88 billion in the Philippine economy from the sale of
raw sugar, refined sugar, bioethanol and molasses, tolling fees of refined
sugar, value-added tax (VAT) on tolling and VAT from the sale of refined sugar,
the sugar industry does not receive any funds from the Department of
Agriculture, either for the construction of farm-to-mill roads, sugar
warehouses, irrigation or water-impounding facilities, research and development
or extension services.
“If Thailand subsidizes its sugar industry, and other industries, why the Philippine
government ignored this industry?” she posed.
Because of the
incompetence of the government, sugar workers would be gobbled by other member
countries in a regional tariff that is pegged at 5% only where sugar from
Thailand can be sold at P20 a kilo versus its P40 counterparts in the Philippines.
Engineer So
said that he met recently with Senator Grace Poe and discussed the implication
of AFTA, agricultural trades with the U.S and Europe, and the weak policies of
the Department of Agriculture on the imports from other countries.
“Gusto natin
malaman kung hanggang saan sila, hanggang saan tayo kung paano ba ang export
natin doon, ano ba ang hinahanap sa atin. Dapat ang sinasabi natin iyong export
natin, tapos may food safety sila (other countries) doon na hindi basta-basta
pumapasok ang kargamento sa kabila dapat kung ano ang safety natin dito dapat
doon ganoon din,” he stressed.
Cayetano cited
that land reform in the Philippines had become a problem than a solution.
“Naibigay nga
ang lupa sa maliit na mga farmers, walang suporta naman doon sa pondo”.
He said it is
only in the country that farmers lived in abject poverty.
“They could not
eat properly despite they are the one planting for the food crops (intended for every body)”.
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