MARLEN V. RONQUILLO
ABOUT three months ago, outgoing Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol appealed to meat processors/importers. “Please, please,” he said, “forget your bacons and hotdogs (the exact phrasing). Stop your planned pork importations. The global pork market, as you can see, is roiled by the ASF (African swine fever) epidemic. The local hog industry, the eighth largest in the world, would definitely suffer should you push through with your foolhardy importations.”