Magsasaka turns table against PAMPI

A huge chunk of hog raisers are small players who are doing honest work to survive day-by-day, according to Rep. Cabatbat. #ASFoutbreak #PAMPI #Magsasakapartylist

Magsasaka Partylist Rep. Argel Cabatbat on Wednesday lambasted the Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (PAMPI) for calling a boycott on local pork amid the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak.

“The PAMPI’s call muddles the conversation, passes the blame to local producers, and affects the job and livelihood of millions of Filipinos,” Cabatbat said in a statement.

The lawmaker turned the table against the group.

“The call to punish the local industry is a form of scapegoating, especially that the call comes from an organization which sources most of its meat abroad,” said Cabatbat. “The PAMPI needs to be reminded that the likelihood of the ASF originating from imported pork is greater than it coming from local ones.”

The boycott, according to Cabatbat, continuously hurts the hog-raising industry instead of solving the problem at hand.

He defended local hog raisers saying a huge chunk of them are small players who are doing honest work to survive day-by-day.

“Billions of pesos in capital have been lost in the past couple of months because of the spread of the ASF, as well as the panic and misinformation that came with it. Our local players consistently cooperate with authorities, and have instituted stringent measures to protect the interests and safety of the buying public,” he said.

“The way to respond to this problem is for industry players to come together, instead of one or few players manifesting greed and intentionally causing panic just to get ahead of the competition,” added Cabatbat.