The country's biosafety authorities reaffirmed its science-based regulations,
in a public consultation held on 29 April 2008 at the Department of Agriculture
(DA) headquarters. The Departments of Agriculture, Science and Technology,
Environment and Natural Resources, Health and the National Committee on
Biosafety of the Philippines jointly prepared the First Philippine Cartagena
Report, in consultation with stakeholders, to support the national policy
of promoting the safe and responsible use of modern biotechnology.
The biosafety report covered information in the implementation
of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB), to which the
Philippines became a party on January 2007. These information
include legal and administrative measures; procedures for
advanced informed agreement and direct use as food, feed or
processing; risk assessment and risk management; unintentional
transboundary movement; illegal transboundary movement; handling,
transport, packaging, and identification; biosafety clearing
house; confidential information; capacity building; public
awareness and participation; non-parties; socio-economic considerations;
and financial mechanism and resources.
Though a new player, the Philippines has already put in place
legal, administrative and other measures that are compliant
with the CPB. To date, the Philippines has approved genetically
modified crops for release to environment and propagation
namely, corn-borer resistant corn, glyphosate-tolerant corn,
and a corn having corn-borer resistance and glyphosate-tolerance.
For genetically modified products for direct use as food,
feed, or for processing, a total of 48 approvals/permit have
been granted.
The Bureau of Plant Industry of the DA also explained the
sampling procedures and rigid GMO-testing done for unapproved
events in the current shipment of rice from the USA. The results
showed negative presence of unapproved events. Greenpeace
Southeast Asia Sustainable Agriculture campaigner Daniel Ocampo
admitted that their samples did not come from the shipment
that was tested by the BPI.
BPI director Joel Rudinas, on the other hand, encouraged
stakeholders to support the implementation of the regulations
in their respective domains. Should there be perceived implementation
gaps, he requested that official reports be transmitted to
their office for appropriate action. He also invited stakeholders
to possible collaborative activities in order to further promote
transparency in biosafety-decision making.
The consultation elicited valuable inputs from stakeholders
coming from the academe, research and development agencies,
non-government organizations which included Greenpeace,
Third World Network, Earthsavers, Philippine Council for
Sustainable Development, Philippine Seed Industry Association,
Crop Life Philippines, Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines,
and private sectors - a positive indication of an assured
multi-sectoral participation in biosafety initiatives.
For more information, please contact:
Ms. Sonny P. Tababa
Network Administrator
Biotechnology Information Center
SEAMEO SEARCA
College, Laguna 4031
Email: spt at agri.searca.org
Tel: (63-49)536-7163
Tele/Fax: (63-49)536-7162
URL: www.bic.searca.org
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See articles:
Ecology group sounds alarm over GMO rice
Greenpeace questions GMO policy
Public warned against entry of genetically modified rice
Greenpeace urges govt to quarantine US rice on suspicion of GMO contamination
