Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva deplored the diminishing local salt industry even as the Philippines is known to have “the longest shorelines in the world that is conducive for salt production.”
“Unfortunately, we have not made full use of the resources that we have and the salt industry has consistently been in decline.” Still, the Senate Majority Leader said he is banking on his fellow senators as the committee leader expressed the hope that the committee will pass his bill, Senate Bill No. 1450, otherwise known as the Salt Industry Development sooner.
Binay also suggested that salt businesses and cooperatives should be linked with the Philippine Coconut Authority to encourage coconut farmers to buy locally-produced salt for their fertilizer needs.AT the same time, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian pressed for an agriculture information system to “prevent the manipulation of food prices in the market.”