• RICHARD T. CABALLERO JR.
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Negros Occidental asked farmers who were opposing the ordinance regulating the entry of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) in the province to submit their position paper before the ordinance is passed.
Provincial Board Member Andrew Montelibano made the announcement yesterday, during the public hearing on the usage of GMOs in the province’s agricultural sector, held at the SP’s social hall.
Montelibano said that they will give at least one week for the oppositors to submit a position paper, providing an avenue to show that the ordinance will be beneficial to both organic and commercial farmers.
“If the ordinance is not good for them, we will give them one week to submit their suggestion so that we can revise the ordinance. If there is something we need to rephrase, we are willing. But for us, we will serve both,” he said.
After the oppositors submit their position paper, the committee led by Montelibano will hold a session to decide whether to redraft or adjust the ordinance for the sake of both sides.
Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said in his speech that the province is not favoring only one sector, citing that the ordinance will help farmers who prefer to use organic and non-organic methods.
DISAPPOINTED
Meanwhile, the public hearing received backlash from the oppositors who stated that the SP forfeited its purpose.
Masipag Advocacy Officer Eliseo Ruzol Jr. expressed disappointment at the result of the hearing. He claimed that the committee did not acknowledge their suggestions and oppositions.
“We want to show other sides of science that show the unpredictable results of the GMO. While there is a consultation, I think it’s already predetermined; they had set their mind to approve it. So we will find ways to oppose it because clearly every farmer in the room is opposing it,” he said after calling the session “weird.”
Local farmers from various government units and associations had also voiced out their concerns regarding the ordinance. They are suggesting that the province should stick to the natural and conventional way of farming, stating that GMOs will have a negative impact on the sector.
Retired Professor of Biology at University of the Philippines-Mindanao Ruth Gamboa said that GMO is not a solution for food security, as stated in the proposed ordinance.
“GMO’s negative effects will be seen in the long term. The GMO needs more research before it should be implemented,” she said.
“We would like the farmer to get to a decision that the farmers are duly informed. But the hearing became not a place for it,” she added.
Furthermore, Diaz said that 18 years after the province settled on pure organic farming by the virtue of Ordinance No. 007, production is still not sufficient. This pushed the province to consider scientific tools, particularly GMOs, to enhance agricultural productivity.*
