In a groundbreaking move, the municipality of San Mateo has passed an ordinance aimed at ensuring the availability of safer, higher-quality rice for its residents. The ordinance, approved by the local government and supported by the Department of Agriculture through the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), sets a precedent for the country in rice quality assurance.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) will implement a maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for pork in wet markets across the National Capital Region starting 10 March. The new price cap will set pork liempo at P380 per kilogram, kasim and pigue at P350 per kilogram, and "sabit ulo" (the price traders pass to retailers) at P300 per kilogram.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has lifted the importation ban on poultry products from France while imposing a temporary ban on imports from the US states of Indiana, New York, and Pennsylvania.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has declared Camarines Norte free from avian influenza (AI), following effective containment measures and surveillance. DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. confirmed the resolution of the outbreak, which began last December when the H5N2 strain of AI was detected on a backyard duck farm in Talisay.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. led an inspection on Monday of one-and-a-half dozen container vans suspected of being loaded with hundreds of tons of frozen fish, but was declared by importers as processed plant-based commodities. A earlier spot check conducted by the Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Plant Industry and the Bureau of Customs on two of the 19 40-foot container vans revealed boxes of frozen mackerels locally known as tamban, and frozen round scad-locally known as galunggong rather than the frozen fried taro sticks, sweet potato balls, and assorted food products from China, as declared in the shipping manifest.
The country’s foreign currency reserves stood strong at $104.8 billion as of the end of August 2026, driven by higher global gold prices and earnings from foreign investments, according to preliminary data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Although government withdrawals to pay off foreign debt offset some gains, the overall buffer remains well above global safety standards.
Pork farmgate prices have dropped sharply as domestic hog raisers rush sales ahead of the rainy season to avoid African swine fever (ASF) losses, the Department of Agriculture (DA) reported Monday. Higher output from last year’s price surge, not imports, drives the shift—production rose 5.6npercent in Q2 while farmgate prices fell nearly 19 percent year-on-year.
The Philippine government has enough revenues to service its debt even without the proposed ProGRESS tax package, Malacañang said Monday, as the Marcos administration pushes reforms to strengthen fiscal capacity and provide targeted tax relief.