Joint government circular addresses SC concerns on GM crops – DA

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Agriculture (DA) is confident a joint administrative order on the use of genetically modified organisms will address all the concerns raised by the Supreme Court.

The joint administrative order is being drafted by various government agencies including the Departments of Science and Technology, Environment and Natural Resources, Health, and Interior and Local Government.

“Every step of the way, we have tried to involve all stakeholders in the formulation of the draft and it is near final. It has gone through legal scrubbing by the departments but we still have to consult the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG),” Agriculture Undersecretary Dennis Guerrero said.

Consultations were made following the order issued by the High Court last December which nullified all importations, applications, testing and commercialization of plants and plant products derived from the use of modern biotechnology.

The SC earlier said DA order 08-2002 failed to meet the minimum requirements for safety under EO 514, which requires a more transparent, meaningful and participatory public consultation on the conduct of field trials beyond the posting and publication of notices, consultations with some residents and government officials, and submission of written comments.

Guerrero noted that the new administrative order has addressed all issues raised b the SC including the lack of meaningful public consultation and participation, no environmental impact assessment (EIA), no risk assessment and no socio-economic consideration.

The joint circular will no longer be presented to the SC rather, the OSG will file a manifestation that will inform SC regarding the five concerned departments’ decision.

“They will not approve it, it’s beyond their power. We will then implement the new one. The SC only acts if there are controversies and the issuance of the joint circular did not, will not, precipitate any controversy until such time somebody files a new case,” Guerrero explained.

He said issuance of the joint circular is targeted before the end of the month while publication is set within the next 15 days after issuance.