Mikhael Paolo G.

Montaño STS/TF 2:30-4:00pm

BA-COMM-1 Ms. Sara Zaragoza

Philippines and GMO Case: Where Are We?

Introduction

GMO, or genetically modified organism, is a plant, animal, microorganism or other organism

whose genetic makeup has been modified in a laboratory using genetic engineering or transgenic
technology. This creates combinations of plant, animal, bacterial and virus genes that do not
occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods. These are organisms that have had
their characteristics changed through the modification of their DNA. Genetic modification
affects many of the products we consume on a daily basis. As the number of GMOs available for
commercial use grows every year, the Non-GMO Project works diligently to provide the most
accurate, up-to-date standards for non-GMO verification.

The “GMO war” rages on, and the Philippines remains among the fiercest theaters of conflict
over genetically modified organisms used to produce new crops to help feed the world’s growing
population. Pitted against each other in the word war and sometimes violent confrontations are
the combined segments of the agriculture, research and academic communities advocating the
genetically engineered (GE) crops and those who dub these as “Franken Food.”

The GMO war in the Philippines began more than a decade ago following the introduction of Bt
(Bacillus thuringiensis) in corn farms in the Cotabato region in Mindanao. The experiments were
spearheaded by the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB).

New laboratory tests conducted for Greenpeace reveal that the same genetically engineered foods
being removed from markets worldwide are now turning up in the Philippines contaminating
popular everyday food items. None of this food is labeled despite promises made by international
food companies. Some of the foods are produced by the same companies who have removed GE
foods in other parts of the world. Shockingly, none of these GE foods was subject to safety
regulation by the Philippine government. The government does not even require that companies
inform consumers about what they are eating. Instead, these potentially dangerous ingredients
are being kept hidden from public knowledge.
Body

The use of GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) may help in the fast production of food but
it may cause health risks. Since it is scientifically studied, it does not mean that it is safe. Not all
scientific works or studies helped in the society. Some even failed. The Philippines Supreme
Court has reversed its decision to halt field trials of GMO talong, also known as brinjal and
eggplant.

The July 26 decision allows the government to resume the process of deregulating Bttalong
eggplant genetically engineered to resist the fruit and shoot borer, the most destructive eggplant
insect pest throughout Asia.

The ruling follows an appeal by farmers, scientists and other agriculture advocates, who
successfully asked the high court to reconsider its December 2015 ruling permanently stopping
Bt talong field trials.

These effectively negated the need for the reliefs sought by respondents as there was no longer
any field test to stop, the briefing stated. Hence at the time the Court of Appeals rendered its
Decision dated May 17, 2013, the reliefs respondents sought and which were granted by the CA
were no longer capable of execution.

The Court explained that it is not empowered to decide moot questions or abstract propositions,
or to declare principles or riles of law which cannot affect the result as to the thing in issue in the
case before it, the briefing stated. An action is considered moot when it no longer presents a
justiciable controversy because the issues have become academic or when the subject matter has
been resolved.

The Court further found that it should not have acted on the Constitutionality of the Department
of Agriculture s Administrative Order No. 08, which authorized the field trials, as this matter was
only collaterally raised. Its introduction to the Philippines has been fought by Greenpeace. In
May 2012, the international activist group successfully petitioned the Court of Appeals to halt
the field trials, which are conducted in a controlled, isolated setting to show the crop can be
grown safely and successfully in local conditions.

Conclusions

People generally do not know much about GMO. Scientists have done their research and we
need more information about this. GMOs hold great potential. It promises solutions to our food
problems by making crops more resilient, fruitful, and nutritious. GMOs have been shown to not
have significant adverse effects on our health or the environment, while also having positive
impacts to sustainability. We cannot let its possible drawbacks (or the malpractices of Monsanto)
deter us from what might be the key to our society's future development. We ought to give it a
chance to be agriculture's next great advancement, by not placing oppressive bans on GM foods,
nor forcing misleading labels upon them. Genetically modified foods is still a young endeavor,
which may very well blossom into the solutions for a better world.
References:

Non GMO Project. Retrieved (4 March 2019) from https://www.nongmoproject.org/gmo-

facts/what-is-gmo/
Fernandez, Rudy. Science and Environment Retrieved (20 January 2016) from
(https://www.philstar.com/business/science-and-environment/2016/01/20/1544573/war-over-
gmo-rages
Greenpeace Southeast Asia. Genetic Engineering: The hidden ingredient in Philippine food.
Retrieved (4 March 2019) from
https://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/ph/Global/seasia/report/2001/8/genetic-engineering-the-
hidde.pdf