Greenpeace seeks injunction vs GMO rice

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Greenpeace seeks injunction vs GMO rice
By Alexander Villafania
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 05:58pm (Mla time) 08/23/2007
MANILA, Philippines -- The environmental group Greenpeace and the Southeast Asia Regional Initiatives for Community Empowerment (Searice) filed Thursday a petition for injunction with the Quezon City trial court against the use of genetically-modified rice that is pending approval by the government.

The petition questions the constitutionality of for the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Administrative Order 8, series of 2002, which sets the guidelines for the approval and use of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs).

Greenpeace and Searice are also seeking a temporary restraining order against the approval by the DA and Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) of the GMO rice called Bayer LL62 for commercial use.

The petition cited several concerns regarding the use of LL62, particularly the absence of public consultations as required by the Philippine Constitution, particularly Article 3, Section 7, which recognizes people’s rights in matters of public concern.

The groups questioned the timing of Bayer’s application for LL62 in August 2006, which was the height of the controversy in the US over the contamination of rice crops there with Bayer’s LL601 GMO rice.

Greenpeace, in particular, said it requested for official information about Bayer’s application but said both the DA and BPI have yet to answer.

Both Greenpeace and Searice say approval of LL62 will make the Philippines the first country in the world to approve a genetically-altered food crop.

Greenpeace genetic engineering campaigner Danny Ocampo described the system for GMO approval in the country as “hopelessly flawed” because it excludes public representation in such matters.

"How much do Filipinos know about this, and what voice do they have in such a process? Very little. And yet, for the whole country, the impending approval of this genetically altered rice will certainly be an alarming precedent that will irrevocably alter the future of our most important staple food," Ocampo said.

Ocampo also told INQUIRER.net that the BPI has not rejected any of the 44 applications for GMOs, in particular four applications for the propagation in the Philippines pf GMOs -- BT11, Bt corn, roundup-ready and a strain that is a combination of Bt corn and roundup-ready.

He also said the petition would push a review of the approval process for GMO plants in the country.



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