By Dan Mariano
Environmentalists have won a legal skirmish in their campaign to stop
the propagation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Last week Branch
101 of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court granted an application filed by
Greenpeace and other groups for a temporary restraining order against the
genetically modified rice Bayer LL62.
In her TRO, RTC Judge Evan geline Castillo Marigomen directed the
Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) and the Department of Agriculture (DA) from
approving the application of Bayer Crop Science Inc. to introduce LL62 rice
as food, feed or for processing in the Philippines.

?With the unfavorable publications and debates these genetically
modified organisms have spawned, it is but prudent that the approval?of the
application of [Bayer] be restrained in the meantime considering that rice
is a staple on the dining table of the Filipinos,? Judge Marigomen said.

The TRO recuses the DA secretary and BPI from approving the
application for LL62 for food, feed and processing for 20 days before the
start of hearings for the petition for preliminary injunction, set for
September 14.

This is the first TRO in connection with a GMO issued by a court in
the Philippines.

The injunction petition, which Greenpeace filed August 23, questions
the lack of public voice and public consultation on GMO approvals by DA and
BPI, particularly in the case of Bayer LL62?s application.

?Greenpeace believes that the pending application of a
genetically-altered rice to be used for food, feed, and processing in our
country is a very serious issue of public concern,? said Daniel Ocampo, the
environment group?s genetic engineering campaigner in Southeast Asia. ?If
the application is approved, the entry of GMO rice in our country will
irrevocably alter the future of our most important staple food.?

Ocampo added: ?We have filed the petition because we believe that
this application will put our rice under further control of greedy
corporate interests. With this petition we are reminding the DA and the BPI
to uphold their mandate to ensure that our rice supply is safe both to the
environment and human health.?

Bayer LL62 is rice whose DNA has been injected with genetic material
from an entirely different organism to resist glufosinate, a powerful weed
killer also produced by Bayer, which is meant to be used in conjunction with
the rice crop. Bayer filed an application with the BPI in August last year
for the approval of its GMO rice in the Philippines.

Greenpeace has repeatedly requested the BPI for official information
regarding the application. However, the DA and BPI have been quiet, stating
only that it is under review and that Bayer has ?complied? with the
requirement to submit a PIS under DA A.O. 8.

To date, there has been no substantial disclosure by the BPI or DA to
the public regarding the application and the actual status of the
application.

If approved, Bayer LL62 will be the first genetically modified rice in
the Philippines. The Philippines will also be the first country in the
world to approve a genetically altered strain of its most important staple
food crop.


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