DAVAO CITY – Organic farming advocates are gearing up for the City Council Committee on Agriculture hearing on the genetically modified BT talong this Thursday, February 3, 2011, but fear that their voices will not be heard as the Committee, headed by Councilor Conrado Baluran, does not seem keen on hearing the side of the anti-GMO movement.
“We asked the office of Councilor Baluran to include our list of resource persons but he did not give his assurance because he wanted to prioritize the resource persons from the pro-GMO side ”, said Angelica Castro, Coordinator for the Go Organic Mindanao Movement (GOM).
A plant breeder Conrado Santos had reportedly sent a letter to the Committee on Agriculture asking for a hearing on Bt talong. The letter, which listed resource persons, was allegedly the reason why Baluran is holding a committee hearing at the SP Hall this Thursday.
But GOM, which has long lobbied to ban BT talong, wants more than just its token presence in the Committee hearing.
“More than just our attendance, we want to participate in the committee hearing.”, said Lia Esquillo, Executive Director of the Interface Development Interventions, Inc. (IDIS), a GOM member organization . “Since this is a public hearing on a vital issue, all sides must have the opportunity to present their side.”, she stressed.
Dr. Desiree Hautea and her husband Dr. Randy Hautea have been invited to speak at the committee hearing which will be held at the Sangguniang Panglungsod. Dr. Hautea, who is Project Leader for the Bt talong project, also happens to be the Southeast Asia Coordinator for the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project , under which the BT technology was brought to the Philippines. Dr. Randy Hautea, meanwhile, is the Global Coordinator for the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAA).
Environmentalists are worried that if the field trials of the open pollinated variety (OPV) of the Bt talong continue, this will open the way for the field trials of the better Bt talong hybrids . These hybrids , which have higher yields than the OPV will then be commercialized , out of reach by small farmers.
“Everywhere in the world, this is the strategy of big agricultural corporations like Monsanto. In the guise of helping small farmers, they develop first versions of genetically modified crops and pass it around as freebies to farmers. The second versions which are always more better in terms of productivity are commercialized so that Monsanto can earn profit.”, said Atty. Lee Aruelo, Third World Network (TWN) Associate.
The Bt gene which was used to develop Bt talong was sourced from the Bt brinjal in India which is owned by MAHYCO, the Indian subsidiary of Monsanto.
Go Organic Davao City member Dagohoy Magaway called on Baluran to ensure that both sides would be able to present . GOM is bringing in their own medical expert, renowned medical toxicologist, Dr. Romeo Quijano, to speak in the committee hearing. “If Baluran is serious in conducting this committee hearing, he should ensure that an equal number of resource persons from each side will be able to present. Otherwise, this will be just a sham of a committee hearing”., he said.
Last December 2010, the Bt talong field testing at the University of the Philippines-Mindanao was terminated when the Bt talong was uprooted upon the order of the City Mayor. That action was prompted by a series of resolutions passed by the City Council and the villages of Mintal and Bago Oshiro which opposed the field testing. (PR)