THE Department of Agriculture (DA) will spend P90 million for a restocking program for backyard raisers and massive vaccination of sows in Luzon to prop up the supply of hogs in the region.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said more than 200,000 sows will be vaccinated to give them immunity from certain diseases that ravaged hog farms in Luzon last year.

“This is part of our efforts to stabilize supply and also stabilize prices [in Luzon],” said Yap at a press briefing held in Quezon City on Tuesday.

He said the vaccination and restocking program is now in full swing and is being undertaken in Regions 3 and 4-A.

The vaccination program alone, the DA chief said, would cost around P40 million. He said P30 million has already been released to fund its implementation.

For his part, Bureau of Animal Industry Director Davinio Catbagan said the restocking program aims to distribute 50,000 hog breeders to backyard raisers initially in Luzon.

Catbagan said the restocking program was allocated P50 million.

The DA said the vaccination and restocking program is being conducted in partnership with local government units.

The onslaught of diseases such as porcine diarrhea and hog cholera among hog farms in Luzon last year is now causing the constriction in supply in the region. This, in turn, is being tagged as the main factor behind the increase in the retail prices of pork in Metro Manila.

Earlier, some hog raisers have hinted at the possibility that the retail price of pork may shoot up to as much as P200 per kilogram in wet markets.

The restocking of hogs is one of the recommendations made by the National Federation of Hog Raisers Inc. to stabilize supply in Luzon and in other parts of the country.

FOREIGN businessmen in the country are dissatisfied with the 2008 Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) that was approved by the Cabinet as they believe it was not target-oriented and specific enough to be really effective as an investment-promotions tool.

THERE are more women managers than male managers in the Philippines.

This was revealed by Carmelita Ericta, administrator of the National Statistics Office, when she spoke at the “Advocacy Forum on Gender Statistics” held Tuesday at the National Economic and Development Authority in Makati.

AMID brewing debate over high power rates, the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) urged a government audit of the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) aside from a recommendation of removing the value-added tax (VAT) on power rates and the scrapping of the system-loss charge of distribution utilities if the government really wants public consumers to be unburdened from high power rates.

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) will spend P90 million for a restocking program for backyard raisers and massive vaccination of sows in Luzon to prop up the supply of hogs in the region.

DAVAO CITY—China’s dismay with the national government maze of policy requirements for foreign investment may open up wider avenues to local governments, said Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who has pinned hope on Chinese investment to rev up the local economy.

THE constitutional prohibition against foreigners owning properties and businesses in the Philippines are preventing more Koreans from investing in Cebu.

OFFICIALS of New Caledonia, a nickel-rich French territory, are in the country to seek economic cooperation with the Philippines to augment its needs for human resources for the establishment of another $4-billion nickel plant and other infrastructure requirements.