The delays in green lighting biosafety permits for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) could erode the country’s status as Asia’s leader in biotechnology and may even disrupt trade with the United States, according to a Global Agricultural Information Network (Gain) report.
The Gain report noted that the Philippines is still a regional leader in biotechnology for being the first Asian country to allow the planting of GMO crops. But it cautioned that the “tedious” process and “unforeseen delays” in approving permits for new genetically modified (GM) crops threatens this status.
“There have been no reported trade disruptions so far, but the resulting delays in application processing may gradually erode this leadership status,” the report read, which was published recently by the US Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service in Manila.
The report attributed the “slow” processing of biosafety applications to the Joint Department Circular (JDC), a set of guidelines covering the propagation and commercialization of GM crops in the country.
“Delays in the processing of biosafety permits under the JDC have the most potential to disrupt US exports of [genetically engineered (GE)] products, although there have been no reported trade disruptions so far,” the report read.
The report noted that the approval of biosafety applications “generally” takes over a year when it should only be about 85 days as per the JDC.
Since the approval and implementation of the JDC in March 2016, there has been no new commercialized GM crop in the local market. Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn remains as the sole GM crop that is commercially available in the Philippines.
“Stakeholders attribute the slow processing to confusing procedures, limited resources, and new and changing regulatory personnel,” the report read.
“Local scientists criticized local regulations as too restrictive in commercializing local GE research compared to foreign GE crops currently being commercialized, citing the Bt eggplant project,” it added.
In 2017 the Philippines imported $928.9 million worth of GE crops from the United States, 1.06 percent higher than the $919.1 million it imported in 2016, according to the Gain report.
Earlier, Coalition for Agriculture Modernization in the Philippines Inc. (CAMP) said the passage of a biotechnology law would streamline the approval process for new applications to propagate GM crops.
“We are losing millions because of opportunity loss. Our approval process is too convoluted right now,” CAMP President Benigno D. Peczon, a balik scientist, told the BusinessMirror in September.
“There are too many players. If there is no danger [from GM crops] anyway, then why should it undergo a tedious process? Why do we treat it as if it’s dangerous?” he added.
The proposed Modern Biotechnology Act calls for the creation of the Biotechnology Authority of the Philippines, which will serve as the lone approval agency for applications to propagate new GM crops in the Philippines.
At present, an interagency committee created under the JDC oversees the approval process of Bt crops in the country. The members of the committee are the Departments of Agriculture (DA), of Science and Technology (DOST), of Health, of Environment and Natural Resources, and of the Interior and Local Government.
“We have too many cooks in the kitchen. We were already experiencing difficulties in approvals when it was only the DA and the DOST that approved the applications. The approval process worsened when other agencies were included,” Peczon said.
There are currently two bills pending in the House of Representatives that seek to support the development of modern biotechnology in the country: House Bills 7705 by Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and HB 7926 by Deputy Speaker Sharon S. Garin. Both bills were drafted by the CAMP and were supported by Garin and Arroyo.
The explanatory notes of both HB 7705 and 7926 indicated that it takes 65 months, or more, for a new GM crop in the country to be commercialized.
“The cumbersome regulations can no longer be justified for they effectively discriminate against local public biotech research institutions which have limited resources to comply with the existing regulations,” the bills read.
Image credits: Bloomberg News