In the article “Lobby Groups Hit for GMO Eggplant Issue” published in the Manila Bulletin website on August 5, 2010, DA Undersecretary Joel S. Rudinas “laughed off” the concerns of civil society groups about DA’s lack of transparency in releasing Bt eggplant.

To release Bt eggplant, even if only for field-testing is not a laughing matter but is a very serious concern that demands no less than the assiduous attention of the Department of Agriculture, the government agency that Undersecretary Joel S. Rudinas represents. That he lied when he said that DA has "already given their (sic) explanation to lobby groups" such as SEARICE, Greenpeace and the Third World Network displays his gross insensitivity to the grave risks that the GMO eggplant poses to the health and environment of the Filipino public.

SIGN PETITION HERE!

To Our Most Honorable Secretary Alcala,

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR APPOINTMENT AS THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SECRETARY! We have great faith in your capabilities to hold the position, especially with your enduring commitment to organic farming. We are sure that with you at the helm, the country’s state of agriculture will finally experience an escalating development towards what the country, and the whole world really needs – SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE.

We recently learned about the Development and Commercialization of Philippine Fruit and Shoot Borer (FSB) Resistant Eggplants Containing MAHYCO Bt eggplant Event being tested in 1) Sta. Maria, Pangasinan; 2) UPLB, Bay, Laguna; 3) CSSAC, Pili, Camarines Sur; 4) Sta. Barbara, Iloilo; 5) VSU, Baybay, Leyte; 6) UP Mindanao Davao City; and 7) University of Southern Mindanao, Kabacan, North Cotabato .

According to an article published on June 28, 2010 issue of the Manila Bulletin, this FSBR eggplant will be the first public-sector genetically modified (GM)/biotech crop product in the country and the first GM/biotech food crop to be cultivated in the country by 2011. Field tests in the seven (7) sites cited above are pushed by Dr. Desiree Hautea, project leader of the FSBR project and is funded by the USAID.

WE URGE YOU TO STOP ALL THESE FIELD TRIALS AND THE EVENTUAL COMMERCIALIZATION OF THE FRUIT AND SHOOT BORER RESISTANT (FSBR) EGGPLANT DUE TO THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

1. No information. There is little or no information about this FSBR eggplant, which is also called Bt eggplant. Our calls for release of information about the Bt eggplant were met with silence by agencies under your supervision, such as the Bureau of Plant Industry. We believe that BPI, Dr. Hautea, the NCBP of which the DA is a member, have the obligation to release information on Bt eggplant because its study and eventual release will affect Filipino farmers and consumers. The farmers will need to know the risks in planting Bt eggplant and must not be treated as a mere market for Bt eggplant seeds. Moreover, the public has the right to know what food they consume, from where, and how they are produced.
2. No genuine public consultation. It is our conviction that there was very little transparency in the assessment and approval process done by the STRP and by BPI. Genuine public participation processes as enumerated in the National Biosafety Framework and the Local Government Code were not followed.
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