By Brian Jules Campued
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has signed into law the “Philippine Salt Industry Development Act,” aimed at revitalizing the “dying” sector and turning the country into a leading salt exporter, Malacañang announced on Sunday.
Signed by Marcos on March 11, the Republic Act (RA) No. 11985 seeks to equip salt farmers with appropriate technology and research as well as adequate financial, production, and marketing support to achieve self-sufficiency and boost production.
The 23-page legislation shall also establish a comprehensive roadmap to implement programs and interventions for developing and managing, researching, utilizing, business modernization, and commercializing locally produced salt.
A Salt Council will be created to ensure the unified and integrated implementation of the salt roadmap and accelerate the modernization and industrialization of the Philippine salt industry.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) will chair the council, while the Department of Trade and Industry will serve as vice chair. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) will choose representatives from cooperatives across the country.
DA shall also ensure that salt is a priority commodity to be produced locally and classify it as an aquatic resource product to be exempted from all taxes.
Agri Party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee, the principal author of the law, said RA 11985 will generate new job opportunities in rural areas as well as improve the income of salt farmers.
He added that the DA-National Fisheries Research and Development Institute and the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization will lead the development of technology allowing year-round production of salt even amid changing weather conditions.
“Our work does not end with the signing of this measure into law. We need to ensure its proper and effective implementation,” Lee said in a news release on March 16.
“With proper monitoring and implementation, we can achieve our ultimate goal to be salt self-sufficient and become a net exporter of salt. We can now avoid having to import 500,000 metric tons of salt every year, or more than 90 percent of the country’s salt requirement.”
Speaker Martin Romualdez likewise lauded the President for signing into law RA 11985, adding it represents a crucial step forward in advancing the development and modernization of the Philippine salt industry.
“The ultimate goal is to facilitate sustainable production that could potentially lead to salt exportation, contributing to the country’s economic growth,” Speaker Romualdez said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Cynthia Villar noted the law will “address the expansion of the current salt farms concentrated in Pangasinan and Mindoro” by mandating the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and BFAR to identify public lands as salt production areas.
“Public land for salt production shall also be leased for a 25-year period, renewable for another 25 years, for use as salt farms. For this purpose, BFAR shall issue the Salt Production Tenurial Instrument, where cooperatives and associations of subsistence and small producers and farmers shall be given preferential treatment,” she added. – av
