Science Monday
Monday, August 1, 2016 A13
www.businessmirror.com.ph • Editor: Lyn Resurreccion
next move After the SC reversed its earlier ruling that stopped the field testing of Bt eggplant
Scientists: Commercial propagation of Bt ‘talong’
L
By Manuel T. Cayon | Mindanao Bureau Chief
OS BAñOS, Laguna—Filipino scientists here said they would apply for commercial propagation of the genetically modified (GM) eggplant, following the unanimous ruling of the Supreme Court (SC) reversing its earlier ruling that temporary stopped the field testing of the GM eggplant. Dr. Desiree M. Hautea, the project leader of the Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) talong (eggplant) project, said the application would proceed immediately after they would have consolidated the data from the series of tests done since 2004. The tests included contained trial in the laboratory, a limited confined field trial and a multilocation field trials in Luzon and Mindanao. The tests done would probe into the biosafety feature of the genetically engineered eggplant; its health safety to human and animals; and environmental safety in relation to other plants around the area planted to the Bt eggplant. “It’s a good scenario,” Hautea told visiting journalists on Friday at the compound of the Southeast Asia Regional Center for Graduate
Studies and Research in Agriculture that is stationed inside University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) campus. She said the High Court’s decision has cleared the way for further research and development studies on Bt eggplant and other genetically modified organisms (GMOs). She hoped the application for commercial propagation would be approved w ithin the year to allow them to proceed with seed production for the openpollinated and hybrid varieties. The UPLB-based plant and agricultural scientists have already identified the areas for planting during the last 10 years “that we have monitored and observed these areas.” Pangasinan is on top of the list of prospective planting sites, owing to its dominant production
volume of a third of total Philippine eggplant harvest. Despite the uprooting of eggplants in the Davao City field-testing area, it remained in the top 10 preferred sites for final propagation.
Social conflict
Hautea said they would hold another round of public hearings to increase public adaption of Bt eggplant, presenting the result of the laboratory and field tests as their proof of biosafety and economic profitability for farmers. She said it was likely conflicts will arise, though, in the farms as disagreements and misunderstandings persist on GM crops. “ That’s where the local governments must come in to manage it,” she said, but emphasized that she would not expect any case of uprooting anymore, even in the level of the farms after the SC ruling. “No one has the right anymore to uproot these plants,” she added.
Supreme Court reverses ruling
In a unanimous decision, the Philippine SC on July 26 reversed its December 2015 ruling, which temporarily stopped the field testing, propagation, commercialization and importation of GMOs in the country. In the en banc session, the SC granted nine motions for reconsideration filed by Bt talong proponents and issued a new one, dismissing on the ground of mootness the petition for writ of continuing mandamus and writ
Staff members of University of the Philippines Los Baños Institute of Plant Breeding at a Bt eggplant field trial site in Santa Maria, Pangasinan, in 2010. Lyn Resurreccion
of kalikasan filed by Greenpeace Southeast Asia (Philippines) and Magsasaka at Siyentipiko sa Pagpapaunlad ng Agrikultura. The SC agreed with the petitioners that the case should have been dismissed in view of the completion and termination of the Bt talong field trials and the expiration of the biosafety permits in 2012, Crop Biotech Update said in its web site. The Court also said it should not have
Govt to harness benefits of S&T to spur devt By Rizal Raoul Reyes @brownindio Contributor
T
he Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is serious in bringing science and technology closer to more Filipinos to enable them to realize that the two disciplines are the engines of growth and progress In his message, Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña said the government, under the administration of President Duterte, is determined to harness the benefits of science and technology to spur development, especially in the countryside, to boost inclusive growth. In the pursuit of empowering the people belonging from the bottom of the pyramid, de la Peña pointed out that the government, spearheaded by the DOST, is to craft an environment conducive to research and development. “We are quite aware that research and development foster innovation,” he said in his remarks during the opening of the weeklong celebration of the 2016 National Science and Technology Week (NSTW) held at the DOST headquarters in Taguig City. De la Peña said the DOST will pursue the development of regional-based research and development hubs to address the needs of the people in the provinces for economic empowerment. “We want to make sure research and development will harness the potential of the regions for economic development,” he explained. He said there would be times people will need to step out of their comfort zone to pursue the objective. “For me, I have to break out of my comfort zone from retirement,” he chuckled. De la Peña joined the DOST in 1982 as head of planning service division of the National Science and Technology Authority (DOST’s forerunner). Later he joined academe as assistant to
resolved the case on its substantive merits due to mootness, and should not have acted on the constitutional question of whether the Department of Agriculture (DA) Administrative Order (AO) 08-2002 was unconstitutional, citing that this matter was only collaterally raised. The Court also said the exceptions to mootness were not present and, thus, the Court should not, in the first place, have decided the
PHL inventors appeal for govt support By Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco Correspondent
G
Science Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña heads the opening ceremony of the National Science and Technology Week held at the auditorium of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in Bicutan, Taguig City. The ceremony was attended by staff leaders of DOST agencies and regional offices. ALYSA SALEN
the executive director of the National Engineering Center in the UP-Diliman, and then served as chairman of the College of Engineering’s Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. In 2001 he assumed the post of undersecretary for Scientific and Technological Services of the DOST under the leadership of Dr. Estrella F. Alabastro. In his 13year stint as undersecretary of the DOST, the chemical engineering graduate from UP Diliman implemented several major information technology and e-commerce programs prior to the creation of the Department of Information and Communications Technology. These include the e-Government Program of the DOST and the Philippine e-Library Project, for which he received the highest civil-service award in the Philippines in 2005. To make science closer to the people, de la Peña noted the synchronized celebration of NSTW in all DOST regional offices besides the four major hubs in Bicutan, Taguig; Quezon City; Manila; and Los Baños, Laguna. “This is the first time that the DOST [held] a simultaneous cel-
ebration not only in Manila, but to the different regions of the country, de la Peña explained. He added the DOST hopes to uphold the enthusiasm on science and technolog y created by the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino III and pursue the programs that were unfinished for the “ benefit of even those who are in the outskirts of development.” To make science more relevant and interesting to the people, de la Peña said it must grow in response to the times. “It must work in the creation of development,” he said. “Moreover, science and technology must be the leader in this task.” Meanwhile, the DOST awarded four scientists for their significant contributions to scientific research. n Dr. Gisele Concepcion, a professor at the Marine Science Institute-UP Diliman and vice president for Academic Affairs of the UP System, received the Dioscoro L. Umali Medal for her outstanding accomplishments in research, science education and championing the advocacy of science and technology.
n Dr. Junie Billiones, a member of the faculty of the Health Sciences Center of the Philippines in UP Manila, was awarded the Eduardo Quisumbing Medal for his pioneering studies on “Computer-aided Discovery of Leads against the Druggable Targets of Mycobaterium Tuberculosis.” n Dr. Roel Suralta received the Eduardo Quisumbing Medal “in recognition of his significant contributions to crop science research on root plasticity in rice under soil-moisture f luctuations.” In 2009 the DOST-National Academy of Science and Technology cited Suralta in its search for Young Scientist Award. n Dr. Alonzo Gabriel, a full professor of food science and nutrition at the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Home Economics, UP Diliman, is this year’s recipient of the Julian Banzon Medal for his outstanding research on “Precision Food Processing,” which establishes and integrates models for microbiological inactivation, nutritional quality deterioration, physiochemical changes and sensory quality changes in the processing of food.”
matter, Crop Biotech added. In December 2015 the SC not only stopped the field testing of Bt talong, but also temporarily stopped any application for f ield test ing , conta ined use, propagation and importation of GMOs; it also nullified DA AO 08-2002, saying the order lacked the minimum safety requirements under Executive Order 514, which established the National Biosafety Framework.
iven the right support and resources, Filipino investors can be on a par with their foreign counterparts. The Filipino Inventors Society Producers Cooperative (FISPC) is hopeful that the administration of President Duterte will give them attention and the support they have been needing. Francisco Pagayon, FISPC president, told the BusinessM irror they are seeking an audience with President Duterte to present their proposal for a separate agency that will serve the Filipino inventors, stressing that they have been suffering from “lack of government support.” Pagayon expressed fear that the state of Filipino inventors is “dying.” “Dying in the sense that inventors are not united. That is why, we at FISPC, want to help our fellow inventors,” Pagayon said partly in Filipino. By doing so, they have organized a cooperative and set up a showroom in Quezon City. The shop showcases the best products of Filipino inventors, which they introduce in the market. “We want to assist [the inventors] and help, especially the inventors who have the potential but have no financial capacity. No one will understand their situation but their fellow inventors,” Pagayon added. Pagayon and his group participated in the 2016 National Invention Contest and Exhibits at SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City last week. With the theme “Invention and Innovation for One Nation,” Pagayon expressed confidence that the event will help showcase the capacity of Filipino inventors. Being one of the well-organized and respected groups of inventors, FISPC was invited by Technology Application and Promotion Institute and the Department of Science
and Technology to participate in the event. Edgardo Vasquez, former president of Filipino Inventors Society and an FISPC member, told the Business M irror that creating an agency that would serve as an “incubation” office for inventors “can help guide and fund” local inventors. “Once the invention is already in good position, it should be patented, and when the product is already there and the market is also ready, the obligation of the office of incubation will match the need of industry,” Vasquez explained. Vasquez added: “The inventors don’t have capital. All they have is wealth of intelligence. We should harness this genius together.” Just like Mr. Duterte, who is also a product of San Beda College, Vasquez expressed confidence that the President will look into their plight. “As Bedans, we try to solve problems in a simple way and we all love our country. One Bedan asking help from one Bedan.... Maybe he will hear us,” he said, as he expresses hope for his fellow inventors. “Who knows one day we can be a Bill Gates, Albert Einstein, we can be Galileo, “ he said. The FISPC has a showroom at the ground floor of Delta Building at the corner of West Avenue and Quezon Avenue. Pagayon said the showroom was put up to help show Filipino ingenuity, like various innovative products that are designed for fuel and energy conservation, environmental protection, water purification, alternative medicine, personal care and recreation. Antifungal soap, organic medicine and other organic products are also available. Pagayon said one of their objectives is to help local investors survive from lack of government support, as well as to generate, produce and market indigenous inventions and technologies; attain economic progress and industrial prosperity for the country.