SC issues writ vs GMO eggplant

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) has issued a writ of kalikasan on the commercial production of genetically modified eggplant.

In a resolution promulgated last May 2 but released only yesterday, the high court partially granted the petition filed by international environmental group Greenpeace seeking to stop ongoing field testing in several provinces of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) eggplants, a genetically modified variety that produces its own pesticide.

The SC ordered the respondents – Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Bureau of Plant Industry and the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority of the Department of Agriculture (DA), UP Los Baños Foundation, Inc., UP Mindanao Foundation, Inc. and International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications-Southeast Asia Center – to answer the petition within 10 days from receipt of notice.

The order signed by clerk of court Enriqueta Vidal also required the petitioners “to comply, within five days, with the requirement that the petition be accompanied with a clearly legible duplicate original or certified true copy of the assailed memorandum of undertaking.”

Upon compliance of its order, the court said it would decide on whether or not to issue a temporary environmental protection order (TEPO) sought by petitioner on field testing of Bt eggplants before proceeding to resolve the merits of the case.

A writ of kalikasan is a legal remedy designed for the protection of one’s constitutional right to a healthy environment. Its issuance, however, is only procedural and not equivalent to a TEPO.

Greenpeace immediately welcomed the SC order.

“Greenpeace believes the granting of the writ of kalikasan to be a recognition of the threats that GMOs pose to human health and the environment. We welcome this as a positive development: GMOs and GMO field trials clearly violate every Filipino’s constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology, and their invasion into our fields and our diets must be stopped,” said Daniel Ocampo, sustainable agriculture campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

“The Supreme Court has given hope to Filipinos as its decision now puts into the spotlight the country’s flawed GMO approval system which has never rejected any GMO application, allowing dangerous GMO crops to be eaten and planted by Filipinos. This is an outrage and such a regulatory system which clearly disregards public good must be scrapped,” he added.

In its petition filed last April 26, Greenpeace alleged that the new crop could endanger consumers as it was found to cause damage to internal organs.

With its built-in insect-resistance gene, Bt eggplant can also create aggressive weeds that may wreak havoc on local agriculture and natural habitats.

The group was joined by former senator Orlando Mercado, Puerto Princesa Mayor Edward Hagedorn and other concerned representatives of various sectors in seeking relief from the high tribunal.

They cited results of 90-day laboratory tests conducted by proponents of genetically modified organisms on mice fed with the new Bt eggplant, which showed signs of toxicity in the liver and kidneys of the test subjects.

In December 2010, the local government of Davao City took precautionary action by uprooting Bt eggplant trials being conducted by the UP Mindanao Foundation.

On a general perspective, they pointed out the lack of long-term study that could prove that GMO would be safe for human consumption. “The government’s GMO approval system is hopelessly flawed and biased towards the release and propagation of GMOs in the country. The government’s pro-GMO approach is unfortunately resulting in a massive and uncontrolled unleashing of GMOs into our diets and our environment,” petitioners lamented.

They raised the same concern over other GMOs now being circulated in the market.

“Not one GMO application for commercial release has been disapproved or rejected despite the absence of conclusive proof that such open releases are safe for the environment and human health,” Greenpeace said.

Since the DA issued Order No. 08 (AO 8) in 2002, the Bureau of Plant Industry has been approving GMOs for importation as food, feed and processing as well as for propagation.

A total of 59 permits for production of GMO food, feed or processing had been issued in the last 10 years.

Under AO No. 8, proposals for GMO approvals merely use studies conducted by the GMO proponents themselves, instead of independent risk assessments.

But Greenpeace stressed that GMOs have never been proven safe, which is why they are highly regulated and even banned in many countries.

The group urged government regulators to instead focus on sustainable agriculture instead of loosely allowing the conduct of field trials and commercialization of such crops for eventual human consumption.

The Philippines has recorded over 500 varieties of eggplant and related species.