THE government said on Tuesday it has approved a “more stringent” set of regulations that would manage the propagation and sale of genetically modified (GM) seeds in the country.
Government agencies, led by the departments of Science and Technology (DOST), Agriculture (DA), Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Health (DOH), and Interior and Local Government, have finalized and signed the joint department circular governing GM crops.
The DA said in a statement that the new guidelines took into consideration the issues raised by the Supreme Court (SC) when it voided Administrative Order 8 in December 2015.
It added that the “overhauled” guidelines are “stringent and transparent,” as environment-safety assessment procedures will be cross-checked by the five agencies prior to the cultivation of GM crops.
As the first country in Asia to allow the propagation and commercialization of GM crops in 2002, the DA said the new guidelines “will further strengthen biotechnology’s role in the country’s agriculture sector and address food-security concerns” and, at the same time, protect the environment, animals and humans.
The new rules have tightened environmental scrutiny before biosafety permits are issued, addressing one of the loopholes the SC cited when it voided the old rules, which were
approved in 2002.
According to the new guidelines, Biosafety Committees will be tasked to review applications for field testing and cultivation:
• DOST-Biosafety Committee (DOST-BC)—The DOST-BC will evaluate applications for contained use and confined test of regulated articles.
• DA-Biosafety Committee (DA-BC)—The DA-BC will evaluate applications for field trial, commercial propagation and transboundary movement of regulated articles in accordance with the new circular. It will also evaluate the independent reports, as well as socioeconomic, ethical and cultural considerations.
• DENR-Biosafety Committee (DENR-BC)—The DENR-BC will lead in evaluating environmental risks and impacts of regulated articles for field trial, commercial propagation, and direct use of living modified organisms, in accordance with the circular.
• DOH-Biosafety Committee (DOH-BC)—The DOH-BC will lead in the evaluation of health impacts of regulated articles for field trial, commercial propagation, and direct use of living modified organisms, in accordance with the circular.
Agriculture Undersecretary Dennis Guerrero said the DA is tasked to broaden membership in the Scientific and Technical Review Panel to accommodate expertise in the evaluation of the potential risks of regulated articles to the environment and human health.
Guerrero said the new set of guidelines also provides for “a more substantive participation” by the community.