Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said he is against the proposed Sangguniang Panlalawigan ordinance that seeks to reverse Negros Occidental’s 18-year-old ban on genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Benitez, at a press conference at Nature’s Village Resort in Talisay City on Sunday, Sept. 14, said saying “no” to the ordinance is the best step not only for farmers today but also for the “next generation of Negrosanons.”
“I think it should be taken into further consideration of all the stakeholders,” Benitez said, adding that he has been urged by various groups to publicly declare his support for maintaining the ban.
He warned that even with safeguards, GMO testing could risk crossbreeding with local produce, threatening Negros Occidental’s long-standing reputation for organic and healthy food production.
“If it will be safeguarded well, it might cause crossbreeding of GMOs to those produce of the farmers who are producing organic and healthy food for the longest time, not only for the next few years, but to the next generation of Negrosanons who will suffer for this,” he said.
The proposed Negros Occidental GMO Regulatory Ordinance aims to harmonize the province’s local framework with national policy, a provincial government’s legal-scientific team said.
The current GMO ban, enacted through Provincial Ordinance No. 07 in 2007, prohibits the entry, importation, planting, growing, selling, and trading of GMO plants and animals.
Several groups, including the Negrosanon Initiative for Climate and the Environment (NICE), have also voiced their opposition to lifting the ban.
NICE secretary general, Joshua Villalobos, said they welcome Benitez’s stance.
“We thank him for listening to the plea of the youth, consumers, organic farmers, and environmental advocates and for having a long-term vision of what a sustainable food system and a sustainable province looks like,” Villalobos said.*