The Department of Agriculture (DA) is supporting scientists involved in the research and propagation of biotechnology and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the country even as it urged them to ensure that all regulatory standards are met.

The three-day forum held at the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija was sponsored by the DA-Biotechnology Program Implementation Unit (BPIU) and the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA).

DA regulators and scientists from PhilRice, Cotton Development Authority (CODA), Fiber Development Authority (FIDA), Leyte State University, DA-Biotechnology Advisory Team (BAT), University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) jointly agreed to dissect issues that have hounded biotechnology in the last few years.

The hands-on experience of the review process will help local scientists to appropriately design project safety studies through regulatory compliance.

Topping the list of issues is the safe propagation and consumption of GMOs. The experts also reiterated their assurance that biotechnology is harmless to the environment if harnessed methodically.

"This is the first time in our country's history that the DA is finally reaching out to the scientists," said Dr. Saturnina Halos, chairwoman of the DA-BAT. "Years of credible and substantial research in biotechnology have led to the acceptability and use of GMOs to benefit our growing population."

Recent developments in the propagation of the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn and the entry and evaluation of Bt cotton by the CODA and PhilRice indicate DA's full support for scientific work meant to ensure that GM crops comply with safety standards.

"The meeting is timely because through it, the government made the first step in bridging the gap between policy makers and the scientific community," said Director Alice Ilaga, head of the DA-BPIU. "We expect concrete undertakings and results as soon as this process is put into effect."

Ilaga said that it is the DA's commitment to ensure that all biotechnology products are safe for human consumption and harmless to the environment. "It is the intent of the department (DA) to make scientists understand the regulatory process in order to achieve cost efficiency in the product of the experiments and social acceptability," she stressed.

The DA Biotech Program has been funding several research and development projects in government research laboratories where scientists can develop local products of biotechnology using indigenous crops like local hybrid rice, papaya, and other crops.

"If, in the near future, the products of these researches will bear the 'Pinoy GM' stamp and are fully commercialized, this would surely belie that great irony about this technology's leading to the 'foreign domination' of local agriculture," Ilaga said.

With economic results showing high yield for farms planted to biotech products, the DA has been encouraged to strengthen its resolve to support scientists working to create biotech products that would bear the 'Pinoy GM' mark of quality and safety.

A 2004 report released by ISAAA showed the Philippines has devoted more than 50,000 hectares to biotech crops, and more farmlands are being developed for GMOs. The report confirms the increasing trend among Filipino farmers to trust biotechnological advances

Ilaga said that "the recent inclusion of the Philippines in the list of mega-countries producing biotech crops is welcome news to the DA, and it is very pleased with the recognition.