“NEGROS Occidental must remain a genetically modified organism (GMO)-free province. Let us defend our heritage and safeguard the future of the next generations.”
This was the statement of the GMO-Free Negros Coalition leaders after the joint legal-scientific team of the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental earlier claimed that there is a compelling need to amend the existing GMO ordinance of the province to ensure consistency with the national policy framework on GMO regulation, as set forth under Joint Department Circular (JDC) 01, Series of 2021, jointly issued by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Health (DOH), and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).
The coalition, composed of Negrense farmers, organic agriculture advocates, Indigenous Peoples Organizations, civil society groups, church leaders, scientists, communities, consumers, organic certifying bodies, academe, and like-minded individual, said in a statement Monday, September 8, 2025, that it is opposing the proposed “Ordinance Providing for the Rules and Guidelines on the Research, Development Handling, Use Transboundary Movement, Release into the Environment, and Management of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) within the Territorial Jurisdiction of the Province of Negros Occidental, and for Other Purposes.”
The group said the Provincial Government of Negros Occidental (PGNO) is under no legal obligation to amend its landmark anti-living GMO ordinance to conform with JDC 01, Series of 2021.
It said the JDC is merely an administrative issuance that sets minimum national standards on the release of GMOs—it does not prescribe or require any alignment from local government units.
It also does not, and cannot, override the constitutional and statutory authority of provinces to impose stricter safeguards, including outright bans, the group added.
The joint legal-scientific team of the province, led by Provincial Legal Officer Alberto Nellas Jr., Project Development Officer III Justin Briones, and Environment Management Specialist I Diana Samson, earlier said that the proposed Negros Occidental GMO Regulatory Ordinance seeks to harmonize the province’s local framework with national policy.
Under this circular, they said any introduction, use, or commercialization of GMOs remains strictly subject to the evaluation, approval, and permitting processes of the National Biosafety Committee and its relevant regulatory agencies.
However, the coalition said that to open Negros to GMOs under such conditions would be reckless, putting farmers, ecosystems, and future generations at grave risk.
“This evidence reinforces what farmers in Negros already know: GMOs erode autonomy, biodiversity, and food sovereignty. The local ban remains a critical safeguard- a people-led biosafety framework that protects farmers, consumers, and ecosystems from corporate interests,” said the group.
It added that defending the ban on living GMO crops and animals is not merely about policy but about protecting the agricultural future of the island and its people. To repeal, it would be to concede democratic governance to corporate agribusiness and to sacrifice food sovereignty, ecological justice, and national dignity.
The coalition disclosed that Negros Occidental must not abandon its leadership in agroecology, organic farming, and its identity as the “Organic Capital of the Philippines” and “Organic Food Bowl of Southeast Asia.”
On September 1, 2025, church leaders, civil society groups, scientists, and organic farming advocates in Negros Occidental signed a declaration opposing GMO testing in the province.
The signing brought together a broad coalition of leaders, including Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of the Diocese of San Carlos and Fr. Julius Espinosa of Caritas Bacolod, along with farmer groups, indigenous communities, and environmental advocates.
Civil society organizations such as the Nisard Foundation, IFOAM Asia, Kaisahan, Masipag, and grassroots associations from across Negros Occidental also signed on. (MAP)