Hunger strikers enter their ninth day of fasting yesterday in front of the Department of Agriculture compound in Quezon Memorial Circle in an attempt to build pressure on agriculture authorities for a moratorium on the commercial introduction of genetically modified food.

Four hunger strikers-two men and two women-have maintained a steady diet of water-and-juice only since April 22, as a protest for the decision of the Department of Agriculture last December to allow companies as Monsanto to sell genetically modified cord seeds in the Philippine market.

The strikers allege that genetically modified corn, or the Bt corn, poses a potential risk to people's health, native corn crops and the environment, and therefore be subjected to a moratorium until all its safety, environmental, health and economic concerns are resolved.

Adverse conditions in the strikers' camp show on the increasingly gaunt faces of the strikers, who have to contend with strong, the heat and the lack of facilities. The hunger strikers are Roberto Versola of the Greens, Luisita Esmao of Pakisama, and Mark Cervantes and Arma Bertuso, both of South East Asia Regional Initiatives for Community Empowerment.