November 19, 2007
Philippines to review rules governing transgenic grain usage
The Philippine agriculture department said Friday (November 16, 2007) it will review rules that are used to process applications for the usage of transgenic grains.
The rules, contained in an administrative order issued by the department, have built-in provisions for review, said Agriculture Undersecretary For Policy And Planning Segfredo Serrano.
"There needs to be provisions that will ensure adequate transparency," Serrano said, adding that recent concerns involving the rules will have to be taken into consideration.
The rules are the subject of a petition filed in court by non-government organizations, which are seeking to declare the government's process of reviewing applications for using transgenic grains as "unconstitutional".
In line with the petition, the court issued a temporary injunction preventing the agriculture department from approving an application by Bayer Cropscience Ltd. (506285.BY) to use a genetically modified rice variety for food, feed and processing.
The application, which is for Bayer's LLRICE 62, a herbicide-resistant variety, was made early this year.
Serrano, however, said that any review of the rules should be as an offshoot of its built-in review process. "We can't just review the rules on an adhoc basis," he added.
Bayer's application, if approved, would mark the first approval for using genetically-modified rice in Asia.
The Philippines was the first country in Asia to approve the commercial cultivation of genetically modified Bt corn in December 2002.
The five-year permit for commercial cultivation of Monsanto Co.'s (MON) Bt corn will expire early next month, and the agriculture department is reviewing its performance.
The review will determine whether the department will issue another-five year permit for the commercial planting of Monsanto's Bt corn, Joel Rudinas, director of the Bureau of Plant Industry, an agency under the agriculture department, said Thursday.
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