NI NOEL ABUEL
Inaprubahan na ng Senado sa ikatlo at huling pagbasa ang panukalang batas na magbibigay ng bagong buhay sa naghihingalong salt industry sa bansa.
Sa unanimous vote, sinang-ayunan ng mga senador ang Senate Bill No. (SBN) 2243 o ang Philippine Salt Industry Development Act.
Ipinahayag ni Senador Cynthia A. Villar, chairperson ng Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform at principal sponsor ng SBN 2243, na ang pagpasa sa panukala ay tugon ng Senado sa panawagan ng mga stakeholders na tulong sa naghihingalong industriya.
Sa ilalim ng panukala, magkakaroon ng Philippine Salt Industry Development Roadmap na kapapalooban ng mga programa, proyekto at interventions sa pag-unlad at pangangasiwa, pananaliksik, pagpoproseso, paggamit, modernization at commercialization ng asin.
Bubuo rin ng 16-member Philippine Salt Industry Development Council na pamumunuan ng kalihim ng Department of Agriculture (DA).
“Tariffs collected on imported salt will also be plowed back to the industry with the creation of the Salt Industry Development and Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (SIDCEF). For 10 years, the SIDCEF shall be earmarked for the: (1) provision of machinery and equipment, including sea water pumps, salt graders, salt harvesters, dump trucks and bagging machines, and salt iodization machines for beneficiaries who are into salt iodization; 50 percent; (2) establishment of salt farm warehouses/storage areas; 40 percent; (3) conduct of extension services; 5 percent; and (4) development of modern salt production and processing technology; 5 percent,” ayon kay Villar.
Bago nagpahayag ng kanyang co-authorship sa panukala, binati ni Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” F. Zubiri si Villar at lahat ng coastal communities na muling gagawa ng asin.
Sinabi naman ni Majority Leader Joel Villanueva na suportado nito at nagpapasalamat sa pag-prioritize sa isa nitong pet bills 19th Congress.
“The bill also provides that iodization of salt that is not intended for human consumption or local food production, as well as artisanal salt, shall be rendered optional in the country. Importers, traders and distributors of imported food-grade salt that will undertake fortification shall comply with the iodization standards set by the Department of Health,” base pa sa panukala.
Tinutugunan din ng SBN 2243 ang pangangailangan na palawakin ang kasalukuyang mga salt farms na naka-concentrate sa Pangasinan at Mindoro at inaatasan ng panukalang batas ang Department of Environment and Natural Resources at BFAR na i-map, tukuyin, at italaga ang mga pampublikong lupain, kabilang ang mga bahagi ng municipal waters, bilang mga lugar ng paggawa ng asin sa loob ng 60 araw mula sa pagpasa ng batas na ito.
Sa pagbanggit sa pag-aaral ng National Fisheries Research and Development Institute, iginiit ni Villar na sa kasalukuyan, ang salt production ng bansa ay 16.78 percent o 114,000 metric tons kumpara sa annual demand na 683,000 metric tons.
“This implies the need to revitalize the dying salt industry. We need to meet the growing demand of Filipino household and the additional annual demand for 300,000 metric tons of salt as coconut fertilizer under the 2021 Coconut Farmers and Industry Trust Fund Act,” sabi pa ni Villar.
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