EXTENDING the period of imposition of the ?16 tariff per 40-kilo bag of imported blended cement will only jack up prices of local cement, which could undermine competition and burden Filipino consumers, according to consumer group United Filipino Consumers and Commuters (UFCC).
‘The Department Order 25-01 was signed by the Secretary on February 20, 2025. It will take effect for 200 days, so if we count the 200 days, any moment now the 6-7 months or 200 days period will end. So now, we hear that the cartels have an appeal to continue this,’ UFCC President Rodolfo B. Javellana Jr. told reporters in Filipino during the consumer group’s protest in front of the building of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Makati City.
‘What will happen to these cartels? Of course, the price will increase. They will dictate the price more. This was the situation in 2016. The price was really high,’ added Javellana.
Asked how many workers would be affected by the tariffs imposed on imported cement, the head of the consumer group said: ‘We think there are around 5,000 mothers and fathers, the direct ones, who will be affected, who will lose their livelihood.’
However, he noted that this number excludes the cement contractors, delivery men, among others.
‘So please, Secretary Roque, we appeal to you, stop this. Let’s not extend it to 1,000 days or 2,000 days or 5,000 days. Let’s stop the P16 [tariff]. So that we can boost competition and consumers will have a chance to pick whatever cement brand they want,’ stressed Javellana, speaking in Filipino.
In a letter sent by the consumer group to Trade and Industry Secretary Cristina A. Roque on September 29, 2025, Javellana said: ‘We write to express our concerns regarding the imposition of emergency tariffs on imported cement for the next three years, estimated to come to P400 per metric ton or P16 per 40-kilo bag of blended cement and Portland cement.’
‘We have noted that this is the second letter we have sent to your office, and we hope that the first letter has not fallen on deaf ears,’ the letter of the UFCC chief read.
The consumer group said it believes that DTI has a ‘johnny-come-lately’ attitude towards this issue, saying the agency is claiming the measure was intended to protect local cement producers, which UFCC notes are ‘bigtime producers themselves and are not likely to declare bankruptcy anytime soon.’
‘But clearly action to protect local production should have been made earlier, at the time when change in the tax regime is not likely to also create changes in the price of other basic commodities,’ Javellana pointed out.