By CESAR JOLITO III
As debates intensify over the future of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Negros Occidental, Catholic clergy across the province have issued a strong, unified appeal urging local officials to uphold the island’s long-standing GMO-free policy, warning that any reversal would endanger food security, farmer welfare and ecological stability.
In a newly released pastoral statement, priests from the dioceses of Bacolod, San Carlos and Kabankalan reinforced the earlier call of Negros bishops to reject proposals to lift Provincial Ordinance No. 7 — the measure that legally protects Negros from GMO cultivation and entry.
Their intervention comes amid reports that some sectors are lobbying for the introduction of genetically modified crops for experimentation and commercial farming, a move the clergy described as a potential “structural threat” to small farmers and a risk to human and environmental health.
The statement warned that opening Negros to GMOs could lock farmers into dependence on patented seeds, drive up production costs and undermine organic and heritage farming systems that have become central to the island’s identity and economy.
Church leaders stressed that concerns extend beyond technology, noting that GMO adoption would affect food sovereignty, biodiversity and long-term public health.
They called on parishioners to raise awareness in Basic Ecclesial Communities, ministries and lay groups, urging Catholics to “speak out” against the potential entry of GMOs in the province.
Quoting Pope Francis’ Laudato Si, the clergy emphasized that while the Church supports responsible scientific advancement, it rejects forms of technology that disregard ecological balance or commodify nature.
They pointed to the pontiff’s caution against “indiscriminate genetic manipulation” as a moral guidepost in the ongoing policy discussions.
“Protecting Negros from GMO incursion is not resistance to science. It is resistance to the commodification of creation and human welfare,” the statement read.
Policy review looms
The clergy appealed directly to elected officials to maintain the province’s GMO-free status, saying that any weakening of the ordinance would be a “setback for future generations” and could erase decades of progress in promoting sustainable agriculture on the island.
The statement was signed by Rev. Fr. Julius Tormis and Rev. Fr. Ricky Beboso of the Diocese of San Carlos, Rev. Fr. Julius Espinosa of the Diocese of Bacolod, and seminarian John Philip Palacios of the Diocese of Kabankalan.
With the provincial government expected to deliberate on GMO policy in the coming weeks, the clergy’s unified stance adds significant social and moral pressure to the debate.
The central question now confronting Negros policymakers: Will the island maintain its GMO-free stance, or open its soil to genetically modified crops for the first time?
For the clergy, the answer carries consequences far beyond agriculture — determining “the integrity of the land, the health of the people, and the legacy left to future generations.”/CJ, WDJ