Davao City/Quezon City. – Skin whitening cosmetics containing dangerous levels of mercury, a potent neurotoxin, are being sold in Davao City in brazen violation of the law. The Interface Development Interventions (IDIS) and the EcoWaste Coalition, which are based in Davao and Quezon Cities, respectively, made the discovery after obtaining 7 skin lightening products with mercury […]
Issues we work on
Enlarging green spaces
IT TOOK a question from Sister Josephine Bacaltos of the Good Shepherd Sisters to voice out what many of the attendees have been wondering all morning: With all of the ordinances which sought to preserve the environment, how had flood-prone Davao City reached this point? “I grew up here in 1946,” revealed Sister Jo, one […]
Land use plan gets final council nod
AS EXPECTED, the Davao City Comprehensive Land Use Plan (Clup) got the final approval by the City Council Monday afternoon. The council passed the measure on third and final reading, with the title “An ordinance approving and adopting the zoning ordinance of Davao City for 2013-2022, incorporating as integral part thereof, Volume 1, which is […]
Shrine Hills now a protected zone
ENVIRONMENTALISTS participating in the revisions of Davao City’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan (Clup) welcomed the City Council’s decision to protect Shrine Hills from further urbanization by designating it as a protected zone. Idis policy advocacy specialist Chinkie Pelino lauded the move as a “strong exercise of political will” as the City Council in a special […]
Higher banana profits linked to ground spraying
DAVAO CITY — Small banana farmers will earn more if they shift from aerial to manual or ground spraying, according to a study commissioned by environmental group Interface Development Interventions, Inc. (IDIS). The unpublished study, “Financial Assessment of Shifting from Aerial to Ground Spray in Banana Plantations in Davao Region,” reported a 19% increase […]
Organic farm advocates hail CA ruling on GMOs
DAVAO CITY—Euphoric over the Court of Appeals (CA) ruling against the field testing of genetically modified Bt eggplants, organic farming advocates are calling for a ban on a genetically modified breed of rice known as Golden Rice. Golden Rice contains beta carotene as a source of Vitamin A and is being developed by the International […]