Reuters | October 22, 1999
MANILA - Philippine consumer groups were cited as asking the government on Friday to require food firms to label food products containing ingredients with genetically modified organisms (GMO).
Francis de la Cruz, executive director of the Citizens Alliance for Consumer Protection was quoted as saying at a forum on GMOs that, "If we cannot prevent the entry of GMOs ... let us be given information to exercise our choice. What we are proposing is labelling of genetically modified foods."
The story says that the Philippines, which imports soymeal, wheat, soybeans and corn, still has no rules on the import and use of GMOs.
De la Cruz said consumer and environmentalist groups plan to ask Congress to look into the use of GMOs in the country.
Agriculture Secretary Edgardo Angara was cited as telling Reuters in an interview on Thursday that government scientists are still studying the effect of GMOs on health, adding, "We hope the committee on bio-safety will come up with a scientific recommendation (from) which policy can be made."
Angara also said he was open to the field testing of genetically modified seeds like corn in the country.
Local newspaper Businessworld reported early this week that Filipino scientists received approval recently to conduct the country's first field testing of genetically-altered corn.
The paper said the scientists were given approval by the National Committee on Bio-safety in the Philippines to test the viability of producing bacillum thurongensis (BT) corn.
Scientists said the BT corn variety contains a protein from the bacillum thurongensis bacteria which makes it resistant to the corn borer pest.
