Philippines Impose GE Safety
Tests on Imports

May 6, 2002
Agence France Presse

Philippines imposes risk tests on GM imports

MANILA, Philippines

All genetically modified organism (GMO) imports in the Philippines would
have undergo safety tests and risk assessment, the agriculture department
said Monday.

Under President Gloria Arroyo's administrative order, all GMOs will undergo
safety tests by the Department of Agriculture's regulatory agencies which
will identify risks and potential harm towards humans and the environment,
it said in a statement. The risk assessment would be carried out in a
"scientific and transparent manner" by an independent scientific technical
review panel, it added.

"No person shall be allowed to import or release into the environment any
regulated article without a 'satisfactory risk' assessment conducted in
accordance with these rules and regulations," Agriculture Secretary Leonardo
Montemayor said.

The issue of the safety of genetically modified crops has provoked fierce
debate in Europe and Asia.

The department said it would also consult other countries and international
organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Codex
Alimentarius Commission, or Codex, World Health Organization (WHO) and the
organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).