CA stops planting Golden Rice and Bt eggplants

The Court of Appeals (CA) has issued a writ ordering a halt to plantings of the genetically modified Bt eggplant and golden rice until steps are taken to ensure they are safe.

“The Court granted the privilege of the Writ of Kalikasan, which directed both respondents UPLB (University of the Philippines Los Banos) and PRRI (Philippine Rice Research Institute) to refrain from commercially promoting and carrying out activities relating to Bt Eggplant respectively and Golden Rice. ,” said the Center for International Law (CenterLaw).

“The CA also granted the Writ of Continuing Mandamus, which directed the concerned respondents to submit to the CA enhanced risk assessment procedures and concrete mechanisms to monitor all activities carried out under the Joint Department Circular (JDC) Nos. 1-2016 and 1 -2021,” it added.

CenterLaw said the CA Fourth Department issued the ruling in an April 17 decision in favor of the petition filed by the Magsasaka At Siyentipiko para sa Pag-Unlad Agrikultura (Masipag) and Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

Masipag and Greenpeace are represented by lawyers from CenterLaw, the Community Legal Help and Public Interest Center.

The government agencies listed as respondents in the petition are the Department of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Health (DoH) and the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI).

“By upholding the right to a balanced and healthy ecology and the right to health, the CA applied the precautionary principle recognized in the Regulations on Environmental Affairs, due to the lack of ‘full scientific certainty’ about the effects – good or bad – of products from genetically modified organisms (GMO), Bt eggplant and golden rice. In light of such uncertainty, the precautionary principle calls for taking measures to prevent or reduce the threat of serious and irreversible damage to the environment,” CenterLaw explained the CA ruling.

Citing the opinions of expert witnesses from all sides, the CA stated in its decision that “the numerous studies they submitted into evidence, and their testimonies during the hot tub experience, suggest that no consensus could be reached regarding the safety or harmful effects of Golden Rice and Bt eggplant for humans and the environment.”

The CA also found that “(the) BPI and the (other) government agencies involved unlawfully failed to perform their duty in carrying out monitoring activities, which… is essential for the risk assessment.”