DILG’s reckless lobbying

THE Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) seems to have ventured into the lobbying business, and by doing so risks turning a growing food crisis into an unmanageable calamity.

Earlier this week, the DILG called on — or ordered, as some news reports described it — local government units (LGUs) to lift the bans they have imposed on pork and products containing processed pork from Luzon, where there has been an outbreak of the dreaded African swine fever (ASF). This came on the heels of complaints from the Philippine Association of Meat Processors Inc. (Pampi), which said meat processors could lose as much as P55 billion because of the embargo imposed by 55 provinces in Mindanao and the Visayas.