PILIPINO Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) president Stephen Antig said they are still waiting for the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) decision on the health department's statement that aerial spraying is hazardous to humans.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque III recently signed the decision of the Department of Health (DOH) executive committee which approved and adopted the recommendations of the study done in 2006 by the DOH, Philippine Society Clinical Occupational Toxicology Inc., and UP-National Poison Management and Control Center.

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Among others, the recommendations urged DA to stop "aerial spraying."

"Given the results generated by the joint DOH-PSCOT-NPMCC study, and in the light of the precautionary principle espoused by the Rio Declaration of which the Philippines is a signatory, we urge the Department of Agriculture that aerial spraying must be stopped until proof of its safety is clearly established by the industry," the recommendation stated.

However, the same study has reportedly been debunked by WHO officials, who conducted the peer review on the highly disputed Camocaan study.

The health officials said they were not convinced by the study as it is an insufficient basis to call for the banning of aerial spraying.

The disputed study was conducted by DOH and some organizations who have called for the banning of aerial spraying in the sleepy sitio of Camocaan in Hagonoy town, Davao del Sur.

Aerial spraying, as an agricultural method, has been strongly criticized by some sectors due to its alleged adverse effects on the communities surrounding the banana plantations. However, workers in the plantations who are directly engaged in the production of dollar revenue generating crop have debunked such claims and have even rallied support for the banana industry.

In 2008, total exports of members of PBGEA reached 418,654 metric tons to Japan, the Middle East, Korea, China, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, Russia, Brunei, Malaysia, and Egypt.