Several large farmer organizations have asked President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resist the political pressure form some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and some sectors of the Catholic church that are violently opposing the bid of corn farmers to plant a high-yielding chemical-free corn variety.

Arroyo and Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. recently came under fire from NGOs affiliated with international lobby group Greenpeace after farmers were given the go-signal to plant the Bt corn variety which reportedly yields up to 40 percent more than traditional varieties with little or no chemical insecticide requirement.

The groups, which include Artists for the Environment, Sanlakas and Philippine Green said variety called Monarch butterflies, and could cause cancer.

Pro-Bt corn farmers, however, urged Arroyo to give them "the freedom of choice." They branded the political pressure against Bt corn as "unfair to corn farmers who are faced with dwindling harvests and a bleak future."

According to Edwin Paraluman, Chair of the Agricultural and Fisheries Council of General Santos City and the Provincial Farmers Action Council of South Cotabato, traditional varieties cannot answer the local market demand for corn due to their deteriorating quality. Local corn crops suffer heavily form Asiatic Corn Borer infestation to which Bt corn is naturally resistant.

Paraluman pointed out that anti-GMO groups "are merely mouthing the scare campaign themes of Greenpeace." He dared the groups to "stick to scientific debate to convince us not to plant Bt corn."

Paraluman asked Arroyo to back the technical and administrative policies which govern the review and approval of genetically modified food and plant products in the country. He said the process "assures that all sides of the issue are viewed form strictly the scientific perspective."

Other farmers groups which asked to be allowed to plant Bt corn are the Philippine Maize Federation, the country's biggest association of corn farmers, the Nursery Farmers Irrigators Association, Matatag Farmers Irrigators Association and the San Isidro Integrated Agro-Industrial Multipurpose Cooperative.

The domestic propagation of Bt corn was also endorsed by the local livestock and feeds industry led by the Philippine College of Veterinary Feed Practitioners (PCVFP), the Philippine Association of Broiler Integrators (PABI) and the National Federation of Hog Farmers, Inc. (NHFGI).