The country's leading entomologist recently told the Senate Committee on Agriculture that the high-yielding chemical-free Bt Corn variety will not harm insects other than the deadly Asiatic Corn Borer, and is also harmless to humans.

Dr. Emiliana Bernardo said the protein found in Bt Corn "acts specifically against the corn borer and other Lepidopterans and will not affect other insects like ladybugs, spiders and butterflies."

Bernardo made the statement in response to concerns raised by anti-biotechnology activists that the Bt corn variety recently approved for commercial planting could harm other insects varieties, particularly butterflies. Several non-governmental organization (NGO) groups staged hunger strikers to protest the potential harm against the said insects by the propagation of the biotech-processed Bt Corn variety.

The senate agriculture committee, chaired by Senator Ramon Magsaysay Jr., called for the hearing to address the concerns of the said NGOs.

Bernardo also echoed an earlier pronouncement by Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit that genetically modified food varieties are safe for human consumption. "If Bt Corn is harmless to these insects, how can it affect humans whose physiology is different from insects," Bernardo said.

The highly-respected entomologist also disputed allegations by anti-Bt Corn groups that there are corn varieties resistant to the corn borer. She also told the senate panel that the trichogramma is not a comparable alternative control to the corn borer as mentioned by the NGOs.

The Asiatic Corn Borer is believed to be responsible for major damages to the country's corn crops, particularly in Mindanao. Massive toxic chemical application has not put the pest under control.

The government approved the commercial planting of Bt Corn early this year after close to four years of scientific and technical assessment due to the inherent capability of the variety to resist the pest without chemical insecticides. The variety also yields close to 35 percent more than traditional corn borer-prone varieties.

Several local NGOs affiliated with European based Greenpeace, however, are opposing the variety for fear that it could contaminate local corn types. Anti-GMO professor Nelia Maramba also claimed that Bt corn protein could get into the stomach and cause all kinds of cancer.

Earlier, Greenpeace also warned that the planting of Bt corn could result in "millions of dead bodies and sick children, cancer cluster and deformities."