By CESAR JOLITO III
A broad coalition of farmers, scientists and community leaders under the Masipag Provincial Consultative Body (PCB) – Negros has formally urged the Negros Occidental provincial government to reject the proposed regulatory ordinance on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), warning that it threatens the province’s standing as the “Organic Capital of the Philippines.”
Masipag — short for Magsasaka at Siyentipiko Para sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura — submitted a position paper to Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, signed by more than 3,000 individuals from the 5th and 6th Districts, including farmers, women, youth, and members of the academe.
In their joint statement, Masipag appealed to the provincial government to uphold existing safeguards that protect Negros’ organic industry, which has been a source of pride and economic stability for local producers.
“We call on our leaders to defend a GMO-free Negros — to protect our farmers, food and environment,” the petition read.
Masipag said that allowing GMO cultivation in Negros Occidental would “jeopardize local food production, endanger biodiversity and erode farmers’ control over seeds and farming practices.”
The group is a national farmer-led network advocating for sustainable and biodiversity-based agriculture.
Its Negros chapter has been at the forefront of campaigns promoting seed sovereignty and resisting GMOs in local farming systems.
The Masipag PCB-Negros submission follows a similar wave of opposition last month, when four position papers representing 82 organizations were submitted to the Provincial Board by the GMO-Free Coalition, an alliance of local cooperatives, environmental groups, and organic producers.
The proposed GMO regulatory ordinance, now under deliberation by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, aims to establish a framework for regulating the introduction and cultivation of GMO crops in the province.
However, critics argue that even limited approval could “open the floodgates” for GMO farming and threaten Negros Occidental’s decades-long organic identity.
The position paper was endorsed by representatives of several farmers’ organizations, including Argene Seron of Kabuhiaan (Kabankalan City), Archilles Yunson of Kamalig (Kabankalan City), Myrna Decendario of AMMCA (Candoni), Ronald Tabotabo of Casawa (Cauayan), and Rogelio Tondo of MALA Association (Ilog).
Earlier this month, Masipag said the introduction of GMO crops such as corn would make farmers dependent on costly seeds and chemical inputs from large corporations, ultimately burdening small-scale growers with debt and financial instability.
“We have seen the effects of this in Panay Island, where farmers lost their lands, were forced to lease or pawn them, and were even displaced from their own farms,” Masipag said in a statement.
“We don’t want this to happen in Negros,” they added.
Masipag stressed that the proposed ordinance disregards the precautionary principle and fails to recognize scientific evidence linking GMO use to potential risks to human health, the environment and the long-term sustainability of agriculture.
The group also criticized the ordinance for prioritizing corporate interests over the welfare of farmers and the public.
“The real progress is one that strengthens life and the environment, not one that profits only a few,” Masipag-Negros chairperson Myrna Decendario said.
Masipag urged the provincial government to maintain the province’s GMO-free policy and protect its thriving organic agriculture sector./CJ, WDJ