Protests from organic agriculture advocates continue against the entry of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Negros Occidental as the provincial board on Tuesday, Sept. 9, held a public hearing on the proposed ordinance that seeks to reverse the province’s 18-year-old GMO ban.
The public hearing, presided by 3rd District Board Member Andrew Montelibano, chairperson of the committees on agriculture and environment, was joined by Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz, who represented the provincial government in pushing for the passage of the ordinance regulating the entry of GMOs in Negros Occidental, which has already hurdled the first and second reading during the session on Aug. 26.
“This is not for the organic agriculture community. This is not for the anti-organic community, but this is for the people of Negros Occidental. We cannot force something that is not feasible to everybody,” he said in an interview after the public hearing.
Montelibano said he gave the groups opposing the passage of the ordinance a week to present their position papers so their suggestions can be heard.
In 2007, the provincial board passed Ordinance No. 07, prohibiting the entry, importation, introduction, planting, growing, selling, and trading of GMO plants and animals in Negros Occidental.
During the public hearing, Joshua Villalobos, secretary general of the Negrosanon Initiative for Climate and the Environment, said the conduct of the public hearing “came in very late” as the provincial board had already passed the ordinance on second reading.
With the observation that the GMO ban has not been fully enforced in the province, having an ordinance regulating the entry of GMOs would even be more difficult to enforce, he added.
In a statement, the province’s joint legal-scientific team said they affirm the commitment of the provincial government to “ensuring that local agricultural policies remain science-based, aligned with national regulations, and responsive to the needs of our people.”
“There is a compelling need to amend the existing GMO ordinance of the Province of Negros Occidental to ensure consistency with the national policy framework on GMO regulation. The proposed Negros Occidental GMO Regulatory Ordinance seeks to harmonize the province’s local framework with national policy,” they added.
They further said the provincial government “does not abandon the values of sustainability and cultural heritage, rather it strengthens our capacity to respond to modern agricultural challenges by aligning local law with national policy and scientific evidence.”
“Through this ordinance, we reaffirm our commitment to safeguarding food security, protecting our farmers and embracing science-based innovation while upholding our province’s organic identity,” said the joint legal-scientific team.
In response, the GMO-Free Negros Coalition said that defending the ban on living GMO crops and animals is not merely about policy, but about protecting the agricultural future of the island and its people.
“To repeal it would be to concede democratic governance to corporate agribusiness and to sacrifice food sovereignty, ecological justice, and national dignity. Negros Occidental must not abandon its leadership in agroecology, organic farming, and its identity as the ‘Organic Capital of the Philippines’ and ‘Organic Food Bowl of Southeast Asia,'” they added.*PNA