In filing House Bill 7357, Camarines Sur Reps LRay Villafuerte, Miguel Luis Villafuerte and Tsuyoshi Anthony Horibata, and Bicol Saro Rep. Brian Yamsuan said that despite its expansive coastlines, the country is now saddled with importing yearly about 550,000 metric tons or 93 percent of the national requirement for this essential food seasoning.
Villafuerte traced the local salt-making industry to the 18th century, saying there was a time when Las Piñas and Malabon were the top salt producers before Pangasinan eventually became the country’s leading area for salt production. The authors traced the salt industry’s continuous decline to four factors, including the ratification of the Philippines of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1994, which was seen as the reason for the influx of cheap salt imports; and the enactment of Republic Act 8172 or the Act for Salt Iodization Nationwide Law in 1995, which required the addition of iodine to salt to address the country’s micronutrient malnutrition.
Additionally, an amount of P100 million shall be sourced from the revenues of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. for the effective implementation of this Act, also for its first year of implementation. The bill directs the BFAR to be the Secretariat of the PSIDC, and to organize the necessary technical working group for the Council.