‘Bt talong’ case reaches SC

MANILA, Philippines - A biotechnology agency has asked the Supreme Court (SC) to allow the field testings in several provinces of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) eggplant, a genetically modified variety that produces its own pesticide, which the Court of Appeals (CA) stopped last year.

In a 118-page petition for review filed last Friday, the International Service for the Acquisition of Agribiotech Applications (ISAAA) asked the SC to reverse the CA ruling granting the petition for a writ of kalikasan filed by groups led by the regional chapter of the environmental group Greenpeace.

The ISAAA told the SC that it was already established that the Bt eggplant (talong) is safe both for human consumption and the environment, contrary to the findings of the CA.

“The record is replete with evidence showing that the conduct of the Bt talong field trials is safe to public health and the environment,” the ISAAA said, citing a study conducted by scientists at the University of the Philippines Los Baños that was completed even before the CA ruling.

The ISAAA argued that the CA ruling, which ordered the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture and other agencies to permanently cease and desist from further conducting Bt talong field trials, was an “affront to scientific progress.”

It submitted to the SC findings of studies showing the advantages of planting Bt eggplant, including those of agricultural biotechnologist Peter Davies showing that Bt crops are safe for human consumption.

In a 25-page decision penned by Associate Justice Isaias Dicdican in May last year, the CA’s Special 13th Division granted the writ of kalikasan sought by Greenpeace, citing the lack of scientific proof showing that Bt eggplant is safe for humans.

This, it said, violated the constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology, particularly the right to one’s health, which should not be put at risk by a willful disturbance of the ecological balance.