Philippine agriculture officials have approved the country's first genetically modified crop for commercial planting, a type of insect-resistant corn made by Monsanto Co., the US company announced.

Monsanto said it expected Filipino farmers to begin planting the corn variety, called Yieldgard Corn Borer, in the next few months.

"This approval in the Philippines demonstrates that both farmers and government regulators recognize the safety and benefits of plant biotechnology, which is why use of these technologies continues to expand throughout the world," Robb Fraley, Monsanto's chief technology officer, said in a statement.

The company said the approval, signed on Wednesday, was based in part on local field trial results that demonstrated increased yield and reduced need for insecticides.

Former Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Montemayor confirmed to the INQUIRER that he has received word that the Scientific and Technical Review Panel (STRP) has approved the commercial release of the Yieldgard Bt corn in the Philippines.

The STRP is composed of about 40 independent scientists working with the government to regulate the sale of genetically modified products in the country.  It conducts risk assessment on genetically engineered crops, identifying the risks involved and the potential harm it may cause to plants, humans and the environment.

Safety tests required

Under Administrative Order No. 8 signed by Montemayor last April, all genetically modified plant and plant products must undergo safety tests by DA regulatory agencies, including the Bureau of Plant Industry.  The Bureau of Animal Industry, the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Products Standards and the Fertilizer Pesticide Authority are supposed to provide technical advice.

The order says the BPI will require risk assessment by the STRP.  The DA, in making the final decision, is supposed to take into account the experiences of other countries and international agriculture organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization, Codex Alimentarius Commission, World Health Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, among others.

The environmental group Greenpeace, meanwhile said it would take direct action against the commercial release and actual use of Bt corn.  It warned that the release of foreign genes may prove toxic to those who consume them or may have adverse effects on the environment.

Jim Fernando, information officer of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, said the reported approval for commercial planting of Bt corn was a result of intense pressure from the United States on the Philippine government so that US companies would gain monopoly of the seeds market.

"And with the (new Agriculture Secretary) Luis Lorenzo at the helm of the DA, other (genetically modified organism) crops like Bt rice, golden rice, (genetically engineered) wheat and soybean will soon flood the local market," Fernando said.

Lorenzo had chaired the Philippine Rice Research Institute, which reportedly increased the hectarage of hybrid rice from 7,000 to 20,000.

The KMP had earlier said Lorenzo's background undoubtedly showed bias for agrochemical transnational corporations like Monsanto and Cargill which develop genetically engineered crops.

Monsanto-Philippines had earlier reported a "very high yield" in its field trials in Isabela and General Santos City.  It said the tests, which were met with protests by church leaders and farmers, confirmed the resistance of Yieldgard corn against the Asiatic corn borer and resulted in better grain quality and higher economic value for the corn product.

But Beau Baconguis of Greenpeace for Southeast Asia said crops like Bt corn might contaminate nongenetically engineered crops and seeds.

"Genes can move about due to little-understood process known as horizontal gene transfer where bacteria take up genetic material and exchange it with other bacteria either in the soil or in the gut," Baconguis said. (With a report from Reuters)