24 April 2003
Hunger strikers, please contact Ag Minister to express your support
Re: Hunger strikers, 1st day...
Dear Friends:
Below is a report of the first day update of the hunger strike opposing GM crops in the Philippines.
Please send your letters in support of the hunger strikers to the Secretary of Agriculture Luis "Cito" Lorenzo, (email:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., fax 6302 929 8183).
Please cc: <This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.> and "'No-GMO Yahoo Group'"
<This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.> for compiling and circulation.
Thanks a lot for the support.
Sincerely:
Oscar Zamora
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2 April 2003
HUNGER STRIKERS MET BY DA OFFICIALS; CONTAMINATION OF AGRI CROPS ADMITTED BUT NO ONE MAY BE HELD CLEARLY LIABLE UNDER DA RULES
NGO activists and farmer-leaders starting an indefinite hunger strike today to demand for a moratorium on the field testing and commercialization of GMOs in the Philippines were met in a dialogue by the Department of Agriculture's minor technical officials as the Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Luis "Cito" Lorenzo was unavailable.
"We should not let transnational corporations (TNCs) make the decision on what we should eat; this decision is only ours to make", blurted out Mr. Mark Cervantes, one of the hunger strikers from the NGO South East Asia Regional Initiatives for Community Empowerment, to the DA officials who met them.
Dr. Art Salazar, the head of the Department of Agriculture's Corn Program admitted during the dialogue with the hunger strikers there is already contamination of the country's agricultural crops resulting from the various field testings of Bt corn in the previous years and the only way to avoid further contamination of the country's other key agricultural crops is not to plant Bt corn.
This contradicts the Department's claim that the genetically-engineered corn does not contaminate other native corn varieties and other plants and living matter situated in the sites where Bt corn is planted.
The DA officials, also joined by Assec. Tejada of Field Operations, likewise admitted that the present DA Guidelines for the Field Testing and Commercialization of GMOs are not clear who should be held liable for these contaminations, or for that matter, disease outbreaks that affect the health of people or any other environmental calamity.
The hunger strikers are Antonio Claparols (Environmental Society of the Philippines); Roberto Verzola (Philippine Greens); Luisita Esmao (PAKISAMA); Mark Cervantes (SEARICE); Arma Bertuso (SEARICE); and activists Gigie Cruz, Ramon Fernando, Rei Panaligan and Anne Laracas.
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A message of solidarity to Philippines hunger strikers from Indonesian GM campaigners Biotani
From: Riza V. Tjahjadi
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Biotani, Sulawesi, Indonesia
Sent: Tuesday, April 22, 2003 2:13 PM
Subject: -Hunger_Strike_Philippines
Dear friends,
I share my solidarity to my colleague and his group who begin their strike today as against Bt corn whilst defending farmers' livehoods in the Philippines. rgds,
Riza VT