Bishop scores govt promotion of 'untested' golden rice program
04/22/2008 | 05:12 AM
MANILA, Philippines - A senior Catholic bishop on Tuesday questioned the government's promotion of "golden rice," which he said was a product of genetic engineering.
Dipolog bishop and anti-mining advocate Jose Manguiran said scientists from Europe and America are still debating the merits of whether the "golden rice" should be sold for human consumption.
"If the scientific community has not come up with a united conclusion on the golden rice there is no reason why it should be introduced and propagated in the Philippines," he said in a statement posted Tuesday on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines website.
The bishop said that while the "golden rice" was introduced to farming communities several years back through local government officials, debates on its merits has continued to rage.
"If you have the golden Kuhol (golden snail) and the golden rice, people may tend to believe we're living in the Golden Age," he said.
Last Sunday, environmental group Greenpeace voiced concern over reports of chemical content of the P25-a-kilo rice imported by the National Food Authority (NFA) from the United States.
Greenpeace campaigner Jasper Inventor called for laboratory testing of the US rice, which he suspected to be genetically modified and could be hazardous to health.
Las Saturday, the NFA started distributing in the markets the P25/kg kilo rice from the US, which replaced the P18.25/kg NFA rice.
In the coming weeks, the NFA plans to sell the P18.25/kg rice through local government outlets.
Greenpeace warned the Arroyo government against importing genetically modified rice and urged it to heed the warnings of agricultural scientists that industrial agricultural practices would not solve the food crisis.
Bishop Manguiran noted that in the 1970s, government introduced the "golden Kuhol," which it claimed was a rich source of protein. "But (the snail) has now become a pest to rice farmers," he said.
Manguiran also scored government for mismanagement of other development projects, resulting in grinding poverty in the countryside.
"The mismanagement is caused by poor implementation (of development
projects) because there are already many guidelines, laws and policies in favor of the Filipino, in favor of the poor," he said.
He added, the problem lies in the implementation of existing policies that "are not in favor of the poor but are in favor of the foreign investor or the Filipino rich."
Manguiran cited the land reform program where, he said, the government has failed to implement the guidelines in favor of poor farmers and farm tenants.
On government policies in fisheries, he said, it has already appropriated the area 15 kilometers from the shore for subsistence and small fishermen.
"In the implementation, they allow fishing boats with purse seines to get into the 15 kilometer area," the prelate added. - GMANews.TV
Dipolog bishop and anti-mining advocate Jose Manguiran said scientists from Europe and America are still debating the merits of whether the "golden rice" should be sold for human consumption.
"If the scientific community has not come up with a united conclusion on the golden rice there is no reason why it should be introduced and propagated in the Philippines," he said in a statement posted Tuesday on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines website.
The bishop said that while the "golden rice" was introduced to farming communities several years back through local government officials, debates on its merits has continued to rage.
"If you have the golden Kuhol (golden snail) and the golden rice, people may tend to believe we're living in the Golden Age," he said.
Last Sunday, environmental group Greenpeace voiced concern over reports of chemical content of the P25-a-kilo rice imported by the National Food Authority (NFA) from the United States.
Greenpeace campaigner Jasper Inventor called for laboratory testing of the US rice, which he suspected to be genetically modified and could be hazardous to health.
Las Saturday, the NFA started distributing in the markets the P25/kg kilo rice from the US, which replaced the P18.25/kg NFA rice.
In the coming weeks, the NFA plans to sell the P18.25/kg rice through local government outlets.
Greenpeace warned the Arroyo government against importing genetically modified rice and urged it to heed the warnings of agricultural scientists that industrial agricultural practices would not solve the food crisis.
Bishop Manguiran noted that in the 1970s, government introduced the "golden Kuhol," which it claimed was a rich source of protein. "But (the snail) has now become a pest to rice farmers," he said.
Manguiran also scored government for mismanagement of other development projects, resulting in grinding poverty in the countryside.
"The mismanagement is caused by poor implementation (of development
projects) because there are already many guidelines, laws and policies in favor of the Filipino, in favor of the poor," he said.
He added, the problem lies in the implementation of existing policies that "are not in favor of the poor but are in favor of the foreign investor or the Filipino rich."
Manguiran cited the land reform program where, he said, the government has failed to implement the guidelines in favor of poor farmers and farm tenants.
On government policies in fisheries, he said, it has already appropriated the area 15 kilometers from the shore for subsistence and small fishermen.
"In the implementation, they allow fishing boats with purse seines to get into the 15 kilometer area," the prelate added. - GMANews.TV
