‘Reverse ruling on cement tariff’

ILIGAN CITY — The mayor of this city, once the center of industrial activity in Mindanao, has appealed to President Arroyo to overturn the "flawed and erroneous" recommendations of the Tariff Commission (TC) that denied the application of the local cement industry for safeguards against the surge of cement imports.

Mayor Franklin Quijano made the appeal after the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) disputed the TC’s conclusions in denying access to safeguards offered under the Safeguard Measures Act (Republic Act 8800).

Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II, in a recent statement, said the TC’s position was based on a "flawed framework, inconsistent inferences and erroneous methodology."

"It would be absurd that after recognizing the wrong done, the government will not do anything to correct this monumental mistake that could result in the collapse of many Mindanao communities like Iligan City," Quijano said in a statement.

Iligan City is host to three big local cement manufacturing plants, which have been major employers and contributors to the local economy. One company, Mindanao Portland Corp., closed down in 2000 after the surge in imports.

Quijano also expressed disappointment over a position made by academicians and economists that reverting TC’s "flawed" recommendations would constitute "weak governance" on the part of the government.

"Reverse it (the TC ruling) for the sake of Mindanao," Quijano pleaded to the President.

He said the cement industry is one of the few remaining industries in Mindanao. "If we lose the cement industry to the importers, all our efforts to bring development and peace to Mindanao will be jeopardized," he added.

According to Quijano, Mindanao already lost most of its major industries because of unrestricted imports. "The dumping of cheap and inferior Russian steel has killed our steel industry, which was the most important industrial sector for Iligan," he said.