Author : Ebora, Reynaldo V.

Summary : The Department of Agriculture approved the commercial planting of Bt corn in the country last December 2002. Bt corn is a genetically engineered corn expressing the insecticidal crystal protein from Bacillus thuringiensis, a soil bacterium commonly used as microbial insecticide for the last 40 years. Bt corn is also presently planted and approved for commercial release for food and/or feed use in USA, Canada, Argentina, South Africa, Spain, Honduras and Germany. In an effort to discredit the technology, anti-biotechnology groups issued statements against it and released inaccurate information items that are not properly supported by scientific data, causing confusion to the public. This paper aims for our decision to support the commercial release of Bt corn in the country. this also serves as a reply to their criticisms to the statements given by Filipino scientists supporting agricultural biotechnology and to prevent further distortion of facts. With due respect to the anti-biotech advocates, misleading statements, half truths and misinformation are not helping the public to objectively evaluate the technology. Science-based discussions on the risks and benefits of biotechnology are essential in order to establish the facts. A detailed discussion of the scientific papers which are the basis of anti-biotech claims will definitely help in determining what conclusions can be derived from those studies. The Anti-biotech advocates are doing a disservice to the Filipino people by distorting the facts to suit their arguments. The scientists supporting the use of biotechnology to improve crop production are accountable for their position. Hoping that the anti-biotech advocates pushing for non adoption of biotechnology as a tool to improve farm productivity should also be courageous enough to claim responsibility in case our farmers cannot compete with farmers from other countries due to limited access to appropriate technologies. The current debate on the The current debate on the use of GM crops should not deprive the Filipino farmers of scientific advances that benefited farmers in other countries to increase their productivity. Our farmers should be given the freedom of choice on what technology to use and what variety to plant in their farms. Filipino farmers are intelligent enough to determine whether the Bt corn technology is applicable to them. Let us give them the chance to evaluate it themselves.