• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Proponents and those vehemently opposing the proposed genetically modified organisms (GMOs) regulatory ordinance are expected to have another showdown, as Board Member Andrew Montelibano, chairperson of the Negros Occidental Sangguniang Panlalawigan committee on Agriculture, will call for a big conference in the next two weeks.
Montelibano said the proposed GMO regulatory ordinance is now being studied properly by his committee.
Leaders from the Catholic Church and environment, organic farming, and civil society groups have issued a joint declaration opposing the testing of GMOs in Negros Occidental, as outlined in the proposed ordinance.
Three international experts in organic agriculture have individually appealed to the provincial government not to take risks in cultivating GMOs in Negros Occidental, as their planting or growing threatens the island’s food security system, biodiversity, farmers’ seed sovereignty, and its identity as the “Organic Capital of the Philippines.”
The plea came amid the Sangguniang Panlalawigan’s deliberations on a proposed ordinance that would regulate the use of GMOs in the province’s agriculture – a move that organic agriculture advocates say could destroy 18 years of work that positioned Negros Occidental as a national leader in organic farming, food sovereignty, and ecological sustainability.
On the other hand, six animal raisers associations in Negros Occidental have issued a joint manifesto expressing support to the lifting of the province’s 18-year-old ban on the GMOs, particularly Bt corn, through a regulatory ordinance now being deliberated by the SP.
The Negros Occidental provincial government has affirmed support for the proposed regulatory ordinance, which is intended to harmonize the province’s existing GMO policy with the Joint Department Circular (JDC) No. 1, released in 2021.
During the conference, Montelibano said his committee will listen to all sides, and refrain from making any comments.
For me, our decision will be depending on the many, not on the few, he stressed.*
