Raid on Bt eggplant field test site slammed

MANILA, Philippines - Government scientists and academicians hit the forceful uprooting of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) eggplant planted at the University of the Philippines-Mindanao by environmentalists and local authorities recently, an online news agency reported yesterday.

Dr. Candida Adalla, chief of the Biotechnology Program Office (BPO), insisted that the field tests of Bt eggplant has been approved by the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) and subjected to rigorous assessments by the appropriate regulatory bodies and independent scientists before the tests were carried out.

Adalla, however, admitted the uprooting could be justified on the grounds that there was no consultation with the local government when the test sites were planned and experiments set up in the UP Mindanao campus.

“The test is legitimate, consistent and compliant with the government-set guidelines noted as one of the strictest in the world and (used) as reference by nearby Asian countries,” Adalla said in a statement released by BioLife News Service.

She said, “UP’s academic freedom to do independent research was assaulted/violated, a tradition that UP holds so dearly.”

“The uprooting of a scientific experiment is an assault to scientific inquiry and independence of responsible scientists in quest for truth. This is the first time it happened to the university, touted as the bastion of scientific research and technological innovations,” Adalla said.

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte was allegedly swayed into allowing the raid, which was carried out to the complete surprise of biotechnology advocates who were working on environmental safety and risk assessments associated with the cultivation of Bt eggplant, the online news agency said.

Dr. Eufemio Rasco of UP Mindanao said those who oppose the field tests should remember that Bt is the same organic bacterium used in their Bt sprays commonly used in Mindanao and is also the same bacterium that is present in soil.

Rasco said Bt has been used to fortify the local eggplant variety to allow it to manufacture a protein that can protect the eggplant fruit by killing the dreaded fruits and stem borer that feed on the country’s most popular vegetable.

Since Bt was first used in 1901, there has never been a single case in which the friendly bacterium contaminated anything nor did it cause any disease, Rasco said.

Six Indian scientific institutions have also affirmed the safety of Bt eggplant and dismissed allegations that it is a monster crop, Adalla said.