Named MON810, the Bt corn variety is inserted with specific Bt gene to produce protein that protects the corn plant from feeding Asiatic corn borers (ACB), the leading pests in the country which can cause 80 percent yield loss as they feed on the stem, leaves and corn ears even before they are harvested. According to the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), the Bt, discovered by Japanese bacteriologist S. Ishiwata in 1901 and developed  by German scientist Ernst Berliner a decade after is a common soil  bacterium that produces its own insecticidal protein and been used safely in the 1950s by organic gardeners and farmers worldwide as biological insecticide.

 

Three years after the Bt corn was approved, two more Monsanto corn varieties got the nod for cultivation. The Roundup Ready (RR) corn which is branded as Corn NK603 is known to resist from the herbicide Roundup, a weed-killing product also by Monsanto. Ronaldo Cayamo, Monsanto Mindanao team leader, said that by spraying the glyphosate-based Roundup to corn, the RR variety will not get affected unlike other varieties. The "stacked-trait" corn made its debut in 2005 which is a combination of Bt and RR varieties. A study by the Southeast Asian Regional Centre for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) reveals that the stacked-trait corn contains EPSPS (5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase) gene, a naturally occurring bacteria in the soil which allows the corn plant to continuously produce essential aromatic amino acids even with the presence of glyphosate, a non-selective herbicide. Glyphosate, says SEARCA, kills the weeds without harming the corn, unlike the usual corn plants when sprayed with the herbicide, stops the reduction of the aromatic amino acids that are essential to their survival. Experts believe that the stacked-trait corn is yet the "best GM corn" brand not only because it increases yield but it also protects the corn from harmful pests.

 

Aside from Monsanto, prominent players in the local GM arena are Syngenta and Pioneer, who are also producing Bt corn varieties.

 

 

Staunchly supporting biotechnology, the country has created its own regulations on GM yields. In October 1990, when the impact of GM organisms on human health is still relatively not known, scientists from the University of the Philippines, International Rice Research Institute and the Department of Agriculture formed the National Biosafety Committee of the Philippines (NCBP) as the official biotech body tasked to formulate guidelines and policies on the conduct of activities on genetic engineering. On July 16, 2001, President Gloria Arroyo issued the Policy Statement on Modern Biotechnology, reiterating the government policy on promoting the safe and responsible use of modern biotechnology. On April 3, 2002, the Department of Agriculture issued Administrative Order No.8, implementing the guidelines for importation and release into the environment of plants and plant products derived from the use of modern biotechnology.

 

On March 17, 2006, Arroyo issued Executive Order No. 514, establishing the National Biosafety Framework, prescribing guidelines for its implementation and reorganising the NCBP which now involves more government agencies to reflect the complexity of issues related to modern biotechnology.

 

The NCBP Biotech Committee evaluates and approves all research and development activities in the laboratory, greenhouse, screenhouse and confined fields. On the other hand, the BPI handles the importation, multi-location field trials and commercial (farm) cultivation of all GM plants and plant products. 

 

Risk assessments are conducted by the BPI-Biotechnology Core Team and the Science and Technology Review Panel consisting of independent technical experts. When necessary, risk assessments are also done by the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority and the Bureau of Animal Industry.

 

The progress of biotech legislations is a clear indication that GM crop is very much embraced in the Philippines amid global debates regarding its safety. Pundits believe that GMO is the answer to the country's perennial problem of crop inefficiency, particularly corn – one of the nation's most important grains.

 

 

Even if Bt corn is more expensive than the usual hybrids at PHP4,400 to PHP4,900 (US$95.85-US$106.74) per 18-kg bag as against the conventionally-bred at PHP1,500 to PHP2,700 (US$32.68-US$58.82), Panopio says farmers, who usually shun biotechnology, are now patronising Bt corn due to its high-yielding qualities. "Though Bt corn is much expensive, farmers earn more from it because the variety is much better when it comes to quality. There is no infestation, therefore there is increased productivity and the environment is cleaner and safer simply because there is less or none at all a need for pesticides and insecticides. Hence, they can save up for the costs of insecticides too and eventually, the production cost" she says.

 

Based on the average price of PHP6 (US$0.13) a kilo, the Department of Agriculture says Bt corn gives farmers a potential income of PHP12,000 (US$261) per hectare and in areas where level of infestation is not so high, an additional 10 percent increase in yield can give farmers of PHP3,000 (US$65.35) per hectare.

 

DA's computed yield for Bt corn range from 1.6 to 3.4 tonnes per hectare, or 30 to 68 percent from its non-Bt counterparts. Last year's Bt corn areas went up by 350,000 hectares against 315,000 hectares in 2007 and Panopio says the harvest all goes to sectors who need corn - including feedmillers. "The 350,000 hectares is already a considerable figure so I think the produce goes to feedmillers because yellow corn is mainly used for feed."  Despite nationwide acceptance, however, some provinces had prohibited the use of GM corn such as the province of Negros Occidental in the Visayas region. Local agriculturist Igmedio Tabanan says livestock and poultry farmers are using GM corn because of its high fructose content that fattens animal faster.  But Tabianan says earlier research shows that GM food tested on rats has caused inflation and increased blood sugar. For this reason, provincial governor Isidro Zayco continues to enforce the ban on GM corn until proposed amendments are being made. The province pioneered the ban on several GMOs in 2007 and has been putting measures in place to turn the area into an organic food island. Livestock producers in the province claim to have lost millions of pesos due to the ban as GM-free corn in the region are said to be scarce.

 

The allegedly ill-effects of Bt corn has reportedly reach Mindanao where 122 people have gotten sick and this was under the assumption that they did so after inhaling Bt corn pollen while walking in the fields. While this report has to be confirmed, GMO cynics deem that Bt corn is not as safe as it claims to be and that genetic clean-up as well as periodic sampling of GMO products should be done before these can be used.