The proposed ordinance on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson has certified as urgent, is necessary to ensure Negros Occidental’s food security, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said on Wednesday, September 3.
“The ordinance will allow the production of GMO feeds for livestock…no feed mills will open here because we have no feedstocks,” Diaz said.
Leaders from church, environment, organic farming, and civil society organizations issued a joint declaration on Tuesday opposing the testing of GMOs in Negros Occidental as outlined in the proposed ordinance.
“Negros Occidental must remain GMO-free. Its destiny lies in being a model for ecological food systems, not a testing ground for technologies that threaten our land, our health, and our future,” their declaration read.
“GMOs have no place in organic agriculture, nor in the future of Negros”, they said.
They issued the declaration in response to the proposed ordinance, titled: “An ordinance providing for the rules and guidelines on the research, development, handling, use and transboundary movement, release into the environment, and management of genetically modified organisms (GMO) within the territorial jurisdiction of the Province of Negros Occidental, and for other purposes.”
Negros Occidental Board Member Andrew Montelibano, chair of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Committee on Environment, said the ordinance was approved on first reading and a public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, September 9.
Diaz said those whose names are on the joint declaration should sign it and stand by their claims. He also described their complaint as “premature” given that a public hearing is still pending.
“The people who are complaining have been benefiting from the support of the provincial government. We deserve to be treated more fairly before they condemn us,” he said.
“We are addressing a problem that happened before and is continuing to plague us”, Diaz said.
Diaz pointed out that the province has a billion-peso swine, poultry, and gamefowl industry that also needs support.
“Eighteen years, we have devoted the province’s lands exclusively to organic. Has it fed all of you? Has it fed the poor? Has it supported our food security? Are we near the name ‘organic basket of Southeast Asia’?” he asked.
He added that the province is working to strengthen organic agriculture practices but will not “close its doors” to those who do not practice organic farming.
“Why be so selfish?… Why not support other industries? Again, this is for food security. We don’t know what will happen in trade, in commerce in the future, especially when wars break out, when pandemics break out. We have to be self-sufficient. We had our reality check during the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
“We will support the organic movement, but we will also support other practices. Let’s be open… not 100 percent of our land should be used exclusively for organic farming,” Diaz said.
He encouraged the opponents to voice their concerns at the public hearing on Tuesday, stressing the need for all to coexist.
In their joint declaration, the opposition groups urged the provincial government to reject any proposals for GMO testing or cultivation in laboratories, research stations, or farmlands.
Instead, they called for stronger support for organic farming, agroecology, and farmer-led innovations that offer real solutions to hunger, poverty, and climate change. They also stressed the need to protect the rights of farmers and consumers against corporate-driven technologies that could endanger health, biodiversity, and sovereignty.*