GMA urged to veto newly-legislated Meat Inspection Code

Local food importers and shipping lines are asking President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to veto the newly-legislated Meat Inspection Code of the Philippines (MICP) which contains a provision that violates international trade rules set by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and exposes the Philippines to retaliatory measures by its trading partners.

The Agriculture and Food Shipping Suppliers Association (AFSA) and the Association of International Shipping Lines of the Philippines (AISLP) said the MICP which is pending signature by President Arroyo, contains a provision which was never discussed in public hearings or deliberated upon by the inter-agency technical working group tasked to study Senate Bill 26911 or the proposed MICP.

"This particular provision, Section 54 of the MICP was surreptitiously inserted by unknown persons in the final version of the bill which was submitted to President Arroyo. The provision was secretly included without benefit of advice from WTO experts in the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)," AFSA spokesperson Samuel Senoren.

Senoren said his group has discussed the issue with the AISLP and the Philippine Association of Meat Processors (PAMPI) which are separately filing their petition to have the MICP vetoed by the President.

Section 54 stated that it is unlawful for any shipping line or airline to accept shipment of meat and meat products for export to the Philippines without securing a veterinary quarantine clearance (VQC) issued by the DA and the International Veterinary Certificate issued by the national controlling authority of the exporting country.

Senoren said that to comply with the provision, importers of meat and meat products will need to get prior permission from the DA so that they could be issued a VQC. The VQC will then be sent to the foreign supplier, who in turn will be required to include it among shipping documents used to negotiate with banks, such as bills of lading, packing lists, commercial invoices and health-/sanitary certificates issued by the exporting country.

"We will be the only country in the world to do that and the implication on international trading is serious. The VQC is a document that clears a country or a plant of animal diseases. It is a sanitary document and it is not an import or trade permit," added Senoren.

The provision has also angered the 51-strong AISLP because it makes them criminally liable for accepting misdeclared or undeclared cargoes of meat and meat products which they have no control of since generally, they do not conduct physical inspection of cargoes but rely solely on the declaration of shippers.

"What this means is that shipping lines will become more discriminating or worse, simply refuse to load refrigerated cargoes destined for the Philippines," Senoren said, adding that under current practices, shipping lines are not held liable for cargoes that turn out to contain smuggled or contraband items.

AFSA president Maritess G. Concepcion said the provision requiring meat importers to secure two sets of VQCs, one from the exporting country and one from the Philippines is unnecessary.

"This is not necessary because all importers of meat and meat products from DA-accredited countries of origin or establishments have already been pre-approved and pre-cleared under existing multilateral or bilateral agreements, or accreditation procedures,"Concepcion said.

"Instead of facilitating trade, Section 54 amounts to a de factor import control, a non-tariff barrier with VQC as the control mechanism. It will also lead to confusion among foreign suppliers because it is not normal trade practice to include quarantine permits of importing countries among negotiable commercial documents,"added Concepcion.

Senoren pointed out that if the MICP is implemented, there is a real danger that the Philippines‚ own exports will be subjected to retaliatory measures and other forms of harassment if Section 54 becomes part of the law.

"Section 54 is even worse than AO 39," said Senoren.

The Philippine Association of Meat Procesors (PAMPI) has been pressuring the DA to amend Administrative Order 39 (AO 39) which they claimed is being used as a quantitative restriction (QR) tool to interfere with and regulate private businesses. Specifically, PAMPI said that AO 39 which requires its members to secure a veterinary quarantine clearance (VQC) before they are allowed to import their carabeef requirements, disrupts their businesses.