Peasant Leader Presses Congress to Act on Anti-GMO bills

The leader of peasant alliance, Kilusang Magbubukit ng Pilipinas, is urging Congress to act on three bills and resolutions filed six months ago to stop the promotion of genetically-modified organisms and investigate its promoters. He also denounced a major U.S. multinational, Monsanto, and the USAID’s AGILE of blocking the measures.

By ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO
Bulatlat.com

The leader of peasant alliance, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, over the weekend accused a leading U.S. multinational corporation and the USAID-funded AGILE of blocking three bills and resolutions designed to stop the promotion of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) in the Philippines, among others.

Rafael Mariano, KMP chair, issued the denunciation as the month-long hunger strike of two peasant activists at the Department of Agriculture (DA) ended last May 21.

Mariano said that selected pro-farmer bills and resolutions filed by Party-list Bayan Muna are still pending even if they were filed in the House six months ago.

Filed along with two other bills last Octoberm House Bill (HB) No. 3381 intends to suspend the entry, field-testing, and propagation of GMOs pending a thorough probe into their safety and their compliance with health and environmental standards.

House Resolution (HR) No. 238, on the other hand, aims to investigate the role of the National Committee on Biosafety of the Philippines in the field testing of Bt corn. Notwithstanding protest actions, U.S. multinational Monsanto field-tested Bt corn in various provinces for five years before getting the go-signal from the DA in December last year.

HR 922 calls for an investigation of the Bureau of Plant Industry for its approval of the sale of Bt corn.

Blocking passage

“Since October 2001, House Bill 3381, House Resolutions 238 and 922 have not moved an inch in Congress because Monsanto and AGILE desperately block its passage,” said Mariano, who also chairs the labor-peasant alliance Anakpawis.

The Accelerating Growth, Liberalization and Investment with Equity (AGILE), is reportedly a lobby group that pushes for pro-globalization economic policies. Senate hearings have revealed that AGILE holds office at the DA and other government agencies. Together with Monsanto officials, AGILE acts as consultants to Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo, Jr. on Bt corn, the KMP says.

The KMP urges Congress to immediately pass these bills and resolutions against GMOs. KMP chair Mariano said: “Instead of tackling anti-people issues like Charter Change that would only intensify agrarian unrest in the countryside, Congress should immediately pass House Bill 3381, and discuss House Resolutions 238 and 922.”

Rep. Del de Guzman of Marikina City also filed HB 1647 which requires the labelling of genetically modified crops and GMO-derived food products. Even this is being blocked by AGILE and “corporate interest groups,” says Mariano.

Meanwhile, Roberto “Obet” Verzola of the Philippine Greens and Quezon-based peasant Luisita Esmao began the hunger strike last April 22 to protest the commercial distribution of YieldGard, the brand name of Bt corn of the US-based Monsanto.

Bt corn is a genetically-modified corn variant containing the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis which is designed to kill the corn borer. It is promoted by the Arroyo administration as a solution to the country’s corn shortage and to give one million jobs to farmers.

Opposition to the Bt corn is due to health and environmental hazards. Among the demands of anti-Bt corn groups and individuals is for the DA to impose a moratorium on the sale of Bt corn to provide sufficient time for further research and public dialogue.

Strikers’ moratorium demand

Much like the anti-GMO bills and resolutions, the government also ignored the hunger strikers’ demand for a moratorium on Bt corn commercialization.

They met more than twice with officials of the DA. While Secretary Lorenzo appeared open to the issues they had been raising, he refused to heed their demands. 

The hunger strikers also reiterated their demand for a moratorium on Bt corn commercialization and further scientific research and public dialogue on Bt corn. They were told that the government was open to further scientific research and public dialogue but would not impose a moratorium. Bulatlat.com

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