Organic advocates push for GMO Ban Ordinance
Davao City – The Go Organic Davao City, a network of organic farming practitioners and their supporters, is pushing for the passage of the GMO Ban Ordinance in Davao City. “We need to protect the integrity of organic agriculture in Davao City”., said Tina Delima , Officer –in-charge of SIMCAARRD. “While the principles of our local Organic Agriculture ordinance has explicitly stated that organic crops cannot co-exist with genetically modified crops, we need to ensure the protection of the agricultural biodiversity of the city from future attempts to plant GMO crops here in the city.”, she said. The Go Organic Davao City network had been at the foreground of the protests against the recent attempts to revive the field testing of the controversial Bt eggplant in Davao City. Councilor Bernard Al-ag is calling for a committee hearing this February 15, 2012 to discuss Councilor Pilar Braga’s proposal to enact an Ordinance banning the entry, importation, introduction , planting, growing, selling and trading of Genetically Modified Organisms within the territorial jurisdiction of Davao City. GoDC members are expected to attend. If eventually approved as an ordinance, Davao City will join a select league of municipalities and cities which are GMO-free and are poised to take charge of the growing demand for organic products domestically and internationally. “Currently, the growing market for organic products is expanding at 10-30% per annum.”, said Ling Castro, Policy Advocacy Officer of the Interface Development Interventions. “Davao City can easily tap this market especially since it is also branding itself as a Green Davao , where our lifestyle is sustainable, ecologically safe and healthy .”, she pointed out. But more than economics, the mainstreaming of organic farming is also an issue of health. “ International studies have indicated that organic crops contain 40% more antioxidants which lessen the risk of heart disease and cancer compared to pesticide-intensive crops.”, said Castro. “By ensuring that no GMO crops will pollute our agricultural fields in the future, not only can we assure our food security but also the healthy quality of our produce.”, she said. At present, Bohol, Mindoro and Negros islands have already declared themselves GMO-free. Elsewhere, municipalities and cities have begun to shift towards organic agriculture by passing local ordinances mainstreaming organic agriculture and outlawing genetically modified crops and products. Last November 2011, President Aquino had also reiterated the support of his administration to the mainstreaming of organic agriculture by saying that is poverty alleviation and hunger mitigation strategy at a national conference on organic agriculture. (#)
Protests vs aerial spray still alive, growing louder
DAVAO CITY—Groups campaigning against aerial spraying are calling on President Benigno Aquino to issue an executive order banning crop dusters nationwide and urging the Supreme Court to uphold the legality of the ban in the city. “We’re calling on the Supreme Court to decide fast on the issue in our favor and put an end to our suffering,” said Dagohoy Magaway, the head of the group Mamamayan Ayaw sa Aerial Spray. He said the ordinance has not been enforced in the city five years after it was passed because the Supreme Court has yet to rule on its constitutionality. “For the Supreme Court to turn a blind eye and deaf ears on the plight of the suffering communities by failing to issue a prompt ruling is an injustice of massive proportions,” he said in a press briefing here to mark the fifth year of the ordinance’s passing. “But we also ask President Aquino to listen to the pleas of the affected communities by issuing an executive order banning aerial spray,” Magaway said. “There’s so much talk without action. If the Supreme Court can’t be swayed by our plight, an executive order from the President will provide relief for affected communities,” he said. Mindanao business groups, such as the Mindanao Business Council and the Philippine Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA), are lobbying against the ban, saying it would kill the local banana industry, Mindanao’s top export product. A Department of Health study showed the adverse effects of aerial spray on the health of people in communities living near banana plantations. Magaway said banana plantations temporarily stopped aerial spraying three years after the passing of the ordinance but resumed again in the barangays of Subasta, Dacudao and Wangan, pending the Supreme Court ruling. In 2007, PBGEA challenged in the Court of Appeals the decision of a local judge who upheld the legality of the ban. The Court of Appeals based in Cagayan de Oro City issued a temporary restraining order against the ordinance, and later declared the ordinance unconstitutional, prompting pro-ban groups to elevate the case to the Supreme Court. The environment group Interface for Development Interventions (IDIS) also complained that people directly affected by the aerial spray were excluded in a dialogue organized by the Philippine Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) with different government agencies. Chinkee Pelino, of IDIS, said the interagency workshop that PCSD organized last year invited representatives from the PBGEA and Croplife, groups strongly lobbying against the ban, while excluding leaders of communities near the plantations. President Aquino earlier asked the PCSD to consolidate the different positions on aerial spray, after Malacañang was swarmed by petitions from groups calling for an outright ban on the practice because of the hazards it posed to people’s health. The groups said the President should fulfill his campaign promise to give priority attention to the aerial spray issue. Germelina Lacorte, Philippine Daily Inquirer
MAAS calls on Supreme Court to uphold legality of Davao City Ban AS Ordinance
Davao City – Anti-aerial spray activists called on the Supreme Court to finally uphold the constitutionality of the Davao City Ban Aerial Spray ordinance. “Five years after it was passed, it has yet to be enforced.”, according to Dagohoy Magaway, President of the Mamamayan Ayaw sa Aerial Spray (MAAS). “This is because the Supreme Court has yet to rule on the legality of the ordinance.” Speaking at a press conference marking the anniversary of the landmark ordinance, Magaway aired his disappointment with the lack of progress. “ For the Supreme Court to turn a blind eye and deaf ears on the plight of the suffering communities by failing to issue a prompt ruling is an injustice of massive proportions.”, he said. Magaway pointed out that after the ordinance was passed in 2007, banana plantations stopped the practice but lately, plantations have begun aerial spraying again. “Reports coming from the communities have revealed that in the barangays of Dacudao and Subasta, spray planes have again resumed their flights, spraying their deadly mix of poison chemicals.”, said Magaway. Opponents of the aerial spraying practice have repeatedly pointed out the dangerous effects of the spray drift to the health of the families living along or inside banana plantations. “The Department of Health had already conducted a study showing the potential risks to the environment and health of anyone that is exposed to the spray drift. ”, said IDIS Executive Director Lia Jasmin Esquillo. “These findings should have been enough to spur the Supreme Court to acting decisively on the issue in favour of the affected communities.”, she said. Other than the Supreme Court, MAAS had also been lobbying for concrete actions from the Aquino administration. Last year, President Aquino had tasked the Philippine Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) to consolidate the different positions of various stakeholders. However, the workshop, which was convened by the PCSD, failed to include representatives coming from MAAS and the affected communities. “They invited representatives from the PBGEA and CROPLIFE but they never invited us. How can we expect a government position which is fair to our cause if we were not even consulted during policy meetings?”, said Magaway. MAAS and its supporters are now demanding urgent action from President Nonoy Aquino. “We call on President Aquino to listen to the pleas of the affected communities by issuing an Executive Order banning aerial spray. There is too much talk without action.”, said Magaway. “ If the Supreme Court refuses to be swayed by the plight of the affected communities, an Executive Order coming from the highest elected official of the land banning aerial spray outright will provide relief to the affected communities. (#)
Village officials, stakeholders forge commitment to protect Davao City’s watershed
DAVAO CITY, Oct. 17 – A total of 22 signatories representing barangays and key organizations, including the Davao City Water District (DCWD) and city government here, recently signed a commitment to protect the city’s watershed as part of the full implementation of the Watershed Code of Davao City. Councilor Marissa Salvador-Abella, chairperson of the City Council committee on environment, said that of the 31 barangays covered in the Watershed Code of Davao City, 22 village chiefs from these areas were present during the pledge signing, along with various environmental groups and representative of the city’s executive and legislative departments. Abella said since it has been officially mandated to all barangays, especially those covered by the code, it is now the right time to act collectively in saving the city’s water source. The pledge states that they recognize the “importance and urgency of protecting, conserving and managing Davao City’s watersheds to ensure a balance ecology and sufficient water source for the Davaoenos present and future generations.” Abella said watershed has been defined as areas of land on which rainwater drains from a river system to a common outlet such as a dam, lake or sea; or an area where rain water from a higher level of land flows down to a river or stream then to the Davao Gulf. “We should monitor, prepare and submit monthly report of activities to the Watershed Management Council on activities relative to the compliance of the law. Starting next month until July next year, we should initiate delineation and ground marking areas covered by the code,” she said. There are at least six watershed areas in the city. These are Sibulan River (Sirawan Area), Lipadas River, Talomo River, Tamugan River, Cugan River and Suawan River, she added. (PNA)
Mayor directs reconstitution of watershed management councils
DAVAO CITY. Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio has penned an executive order that reassembled the management council as part of the full implementation of the Davao City Watershed Code. Executive Order No. 23 provides that the Watershed Management Council (WMC) along with the barangay watershed management councils and watershed multi-partite monitoring teams should be rebuilt to help protect and conserve the protected areas. “There is a need to develop general directions for the interaction among government agencies and stakeholders, multi-sector participation and collaborative management . . . towards ensuring the health and sustainability of the watershed areas,” it cited. Councillor Marissa Salvador-Abella said a text message the order was signed by the mayor on May 11. “But there is no date yet on when the different members of the council will convene,” she said. The reconstitution was further lauded by an environmental group. Lia Esquillo, executive director of Interface Development Interventions Inc., said that the reconstitution of the WMC sends a strong signal to environmental violators that Davao City is serious when it comes to protecting its last bastion of drinking water. “Now that it has been issued, we look forward towards an active collaboration with the WMC as it begins to act on the issues which have long threatened the watersheds,” she said. Published May 17, 2011, Mindanao Times.
Environmental impact assessment guidelines not enough to protect the environment, says law group
DAVAO CITY – The current guidelines on environmental impact assessment is no longer sufficient in protecting the environment, according to the alternative law group SALIGAN, in their legal research which was presented to the public, Thursday in Davao City. “Department Administrative Order (DAO) 2003-30 and its operation guidelines issued by the previous government has diluted the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) System to the point that it cannot protect the environment. The end result is that the EIS has not been placed by environmental agencies in their priority with respect to implementation, according to the study which was conducted by Atty. Raymond Salas of the Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panligal (SALIGAN) Mindanao. The EIS law requires all government and corporate companies to prepare an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for any environmentally critical project (ECP) or any activity situated within environmentally critical areas (ECA) to determine the project’s impact on the quality of the environment. According to the study, DAO 30-2003, which was issued by the Arroyo government to serve as the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the EIS law, is inconsistent with the precautionary principle of the EIS law. The previous AO, DAO 37-96, had been generally accepted because it addressed the demand of environmental civil society organizations for mandatory consultations, social acceptability and other environmental safeguards in the EIS System. But DAO 30-2003 changed all that. “Under the new DAO, only projects that pose potential significant impact to the environment shall be required to secure ECC’s. Clearly, this goes against the principle that an environmentally critical project (ECP) or a project in an environmentally critical area (ECA) is required to secure an ECC.”, said Atty. Salas. “ By stating that only those projects that pose potential significant impact to the environment, it directly misconstrues the letter of the law.”, he added. The study also pointed out that DAO 30-2003 created “another layer of classification over what the laws provided. Instead of the clear definitions and enumerations of ECPs and ECAs, it lists another specific criteria for determining which the EIS system covers”. This, according to the legal study, is “tantamount to ultra vires and grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction”. The study also took note of other glaring flaws in the DAO: · “The new AO withers down the previous DAO 37-1996 provisions of public participation and social acceptability. The conduct of mandatory public hearing is now limited to environmentally critical projects (ECP).[1] This mandatory character is further dropped when it provides, ‘unless otherwise determined by EMB’. Public hearing now becomes EMB’s discretion and stakeholders should be thankful for any token consultation project proponents conduct.” · “The new Order even changed the definition of stakeholders. Stakeholders are now defined as entities who may be directly and significantly affected by the project or undertaking[2]. Undoubtedly, it is a step backward to the more inclusive definition in DAO 37-96, that stakeholders are persons who may be significantly affected by the project or undertaking, such as, but not limited to, members of the local community, industry, local government units (LGU), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and peoples organizations.[3] Restricting the definition would practically make other members of the civil society who are affected, but not in a direct manner, an outsider and should not be part of the process. · “Moreover under the new DAO, not all projects with ECCs are required to form multipartite monitoring teams (MMT). An MMT is the multisectoral body set up to monitor the proponent’s compliance to the conditions of the ECC. MMTs are now only required for environmentally critical projects and MMT reports are only required to be submitted twice a year and not quarterly. “ · “What is more alarming is that the DAO places unto the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) a processing timeframe within which decisions on ECCs shall be made. If no decision is made within a given time (30-180 days depending on the project), the application is deemed automatically approved and an ECC should be issued. Given that the EMB is understaffed, it is doubtful whether EMB could realistically meet the designated deadlines. “ · “The new Order likewise does not improve on the accreditation process of EIA preparers. This has been a source of corruption since anybody could just sign the Accountability Statement of the EIS of a particular project that is submitted to the EMB. But the EIS was in reality prepared by EMB personnel or worse copied from other EIS prepared by qualified preparers.” The study recommended that the EIS law and its rules and regulations should be amended to become relevant with the changes in laws such as disaster risk reduction, climate change and environmental ordinances. The changes should be brought about with a view towards incorporating environmental principles , precautionary principle and sustainable development. IDIS Policy Advocacy Officer Chinkie Pelino said that given these findings the Aquino government should take steps to remedy the flaws. “ Accompanying this legal research is a draft Administrative Order amending the present DAO 30-2003 and reverting it to the previous DAO 36-1997 with revisions strengthening the environmental impact statements and assessment system. We hope to send this to PNoy so that he will be able to act on this promptly”, she said. The public presentation was sponsored by the Water Management Coordinating Council together with IDIS in commemoration of Earth Day. This is the second in the series of legal researches that IDIS has commissioned from environmental lawyers for the benefit of the public. (PR)