For years, Filipino scientists were content to silently work in their laboratories, and occasionally publish their research findings in scientific journals.

But the Bt corn issue has prompted several of them, especially biotechnology proponents, to speak up. They want to help the public understand the science behind the emotional, and thus controversial, topic.

"We have not been trained to communicate the way anti-biotech advocates have been doing. But since this Bt corn issue emerged, we have been trying to learn how to communicate more effectively," Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines research director Dr. Nina Gloriani Barzaga told the Inquirer. "Gone were the days when we would just stay in the laboratory
to work on our experiments" and report the results in a scientific journal, she said.

Teaching the public. Barzaga said scientists were not trained to "popularize" their findings. But the public cannot keep up with rapidly emerging technological advances, and need the help of scientists to understand them fully. "More needs to be done in terms of educating the public about the use and misuse of such advances," Barzaga said.

When asked if scientists who favored Bt corn cultivation were partly at fault for not being in touch with the public, former Science Secretary William Padolina, now director general for partnerships of the International Rice Research Institute, said it would not be productive to point accusing fingers at anyone.

Padolina described the arguments of anti-Bt corn advocates as "veering toward the emotional side." He noted that the "scare tactics" they employed "capitalized on the public's lack of familiarity with the issues." He added that attempts to initiate rational debate and civil discussion have been "extremely difficult."

Debates to continue . "Unfortunately, this issue has acquired an ideological dimension and thus debates will continue. For how long, we do not know," he said. "All studies comparing conventional breeding with that of GM (genetically modified) crops have concluded that the risks for both methods are the same. Furthermore, oppositors to Bt corn accept GM pharmaceutical products like insulin and other vaccines, but reject GM food crops," Padolina pointed out.

Sonny Tababa of the Searca Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture said having a rational discussion on the issue would benefit the public. "The public deserves the right to correct information and the current media blitz against Bt corn only causes unfounded and unnecessary fear," he said.

Answer to questions. In a letter sent to the Inquirer, Benigno D. Peczon, president of the Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines, answered some major issues on Bt corn. Part of his answers were based on the AgbioWorld statement "Sound Science Not Silence."

Anti-Bt corn advocates claim that the Bt corn pollen, which carries the poison gene, will cross-pollinate to native corn varieties and once released into the environment, would be difficult and expensive to eradicate, if it could be eradicated at all.

But Peczon said studies on Bt corn have not established any significant risk in an agricultural system. Also, Bt corn carries "selective toxicity" that is specific to pests and is harmless to humans, fish, wildlife and beneficial insects. "The source of the Bt gene has been safely used for almost 40 years in microbial insecticides," he stressed.

Anti-BT corn advocates say there is no need to plant Bt corn because there are sustainable alternatives to the control of the corn borer. Peczon, however, said Bt corn was just another option that is a safer alternative to chemical pesticides. He also said a group of scientists from the University of the Philippines at Los Baños and Diliman have noted that none of the alternative solutions proposed by anti-Bt corn advocates is feasible during the rainy season.

Developing immunity. Another issue raised was that Bt corn would initially have a high yield, but eventually the corn borer will develop immunity and destroy a substantial part of the crop. But Peczon said that during actual farming, there have been no documented cases of insect pests developing resistance to Bt crops. Management practices were instituted with the introduction of Bt crops to sustain their performance and to delay pest adaptation.

Peczon stressed that in eight years of use on more than 100 million acres, there have been no confirmed cases of pest resistance to Bt crops. The only cases of field resistance to Bt proteins have occurred with the extensive and unregulated use of Bt microbial sprays in organic production systems-old technologies that involved no gene transfer, he said.