UPLB hits Supreme Court ruling on GMOs

University of the Philippines Los Baños on Monday criticized the Supreme the Supreme Court's (SC) decision to permanently stop the field testing of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) eggplant or Bt talong, as well as its decision to nullify Administrative Order No. 08, series 2002—putting a halt to all field testing, propagation, commercialization, and importation of genetically modified organism (GMOs).

In a statement, UPLB Chancellor Fernando C. Sanchez called the decision "a heavy blow to food security and scientific research."

Sanchez pointed out that the Philippines has been importing genetically modified crops such as corn and soybean from the United States and Argentina. The ruling, he said, only increases the country's dependence on these products, with middle income consumers shouldering most of the burden.

Aside from this, farmers will also be deprived of planting more profitable, high-yield crops. Using Bt talong alone, farmers in Pangasinan could have made P272,000 more per hectare. Sanchez also stated that the crops being developed, like the Bt talong, could help solve the problems with high pest infestation and pesticide use.

"Developments such as these frustrate scientific research initiatives and dampen the enthusiasm of researchers to contribute to science-based solutions to food security and safety," Sanchez wrote. "With more mouths to feed and the effects of climate change upon us, the challenge to produce more food has become even more difficult with this decision that we believe lacked a good scientific basis."

Earlier, the UP League of Agricultural Biotechnology Students (UP LABS) also slammed the ruling, stating that it may "decelerate agricultural development" in the country.

The National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines (NAST-PHL) concurred, expressing concern about the country's food security.

NAST-PHL further stated that the Supreme Court's apprehensions about the effects of GMOs to public health could have been solved with more research, but their decision to "ban" GMOs altogether prevents the local scientific community finding out the drawbacks and benefits with reasonable certainty. —Aya Tantiangco/JST, GMA News