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Third hearing on rising prices of food: Sen. Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform, presides over the third inquiry into alarming increases in the prices of food, focusing on issues surrounding the pork industry, Tuesday, March 9, 2021. Villar said from the two hearings they had, it was apparent that there was a disconnect in government agencies’ data which is the basis for policy decisions such as the increase in the minimum access volume (MAV) of pork to 400,000 metric tons and the reduction in tariff rates to five percent. “What we senators would like to know: Is there really a basis that would justify the proposition to increase MAV and decrease tariff? Would this move positively affect not just the consumers but the over-all economy? From the last hearing, the senators then present, Sens. Imee Marcos, Kiko Pangilinan, Risa Hontiveros, Nancy Binay and myself, moved that the Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Animal Industry reconcile their data. So we are anticipating that we will have a better data today,” Villar said. (Screen grab/ Senate PRIB)