Filipino hunger striker vs Bt corn brought to hospital

BAGUIO CITY — The hunger strike against the entry of Bt corn in the country took its first toll yesterday as a Tingguian singer-composer who joined the protest was brought to the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center yesterday afternoon.

Elmer Tadeo joined the hunger strike two days after American Andrew Haralam from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania pitched his cause at the Peoples Park here.

Tadeo, who vowed to brave hunger pangs to awaken people to their cause, said he will be with the hunger strikers up to his last breath.

Haralam, a former US Peace Corps volunteer, is optimistic that Tadeo will recover and come back to the hunger strike area.

He said the incident does not dampen his spirit to continue until the Philippine government does something about the situation.

At least five hundred Baguio residents have already signed up for a petition against the Bt technology being introduced in the country. "We hope to have more and send it to President Arroyo," Haralam said.

Prof. Michael Bengwayan, a freelance journalist and an organic farming advocate, said farmers in the country must realize that the technology will harm the eco-system.

Bengwayan, chief of the Igorot Tribal Action Group (ITAG), is also on hunger strike for four days now. He explained that Bt corn will affect cross pollination of other locally-bred and indigenous varieties of corn. "When there is pollination (as always in the case of corn), the toxin will also be pollinated. This should be understood by Filipino farmers," he stressed.