In a discussion on the use of salt in coconut production, Sen. Cynthia Villar said the country’s coconut industry is as big as that of rice. This is false.
In a hearing of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform, Villar looked into how the Act on Salt Iodization Nationwide or Republic Act (RA) No. 8172 has affected the production of agricultural products.
Villar, who chairs the committee, said that because the law requires local salt farms to produce only iodized salt, the salt industry now generates only 42,000 metric tons (MT) annually from 240,000 MT in 1970. Later in the hearing, the lawmaker stated that the measure required that all salt be food-grade or iodized, but did not account for the fact that not all salt farmers were well-equipped to meet such a requirement.
Villar also noted that RA 8172 has been a “deterrent” to the development of other agricultural industries, including coconut which uses natural sea salt as fertilizer.
She said:
“Bakit nila [government agencies] pinara ‘yung [non-iodized] salt production para [sana] magkaroon kayo ng fertilizer for coconut? Remember, ang laking industry ng coconut sa Philippines, kasing laki sila ng rice. So ‘pag dineprive mo sila ng fertilizer, you are killing also the coconut industry.”
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