G.R. NO.

209271
DECEMBER 8. 2015
- Genetically
modified eggplant
- India, Bangladesh
and Philippines
Produces crop plants created for human or
animal consumption using the latest
molecular biology techniques.
To overcome the major constraints being faced in
farming such as insect pest infestation and
diseases which lead to substantial yield losses
To help farmers grow more food on less land
April 2002 – DA Administrative Order No. 08 - rules and regulations for
the importation and release into the environment of plants and plant
products derived from the use of modern biotechnology.

March 2006 – E0 514 - development, adoption and implementation of

all biosafety policies, measures and guidelines and in making
decisions concerning the research, development, handling and use,
transboundary movement, release into the environment and
management of regulated articles

September 2010 – Memorandum of Undertaking

collaborative research and development
project on eggplants that are resistant to
the fruit and shoot borer
March 2010 – Commencement of Bt talong
field testing

April 2012 – Filing of several petitions

Temporary Environment Protection
Order (TEPO)
Writ of continuing mandamus
Writ of kalikasan
cancel all Bt talong field experiments
Violation of the constitutional right to health and a balanced ecology considering
that
(1) the required environmental compliance certificate under Presidential Decree
(PD) No. 1151 was not secured prior to the project implementation;
(2) as a regulated article under DAO 08-2002, Bt talong is presumed harmful to
human health and the environment, and there is no independent, peer-reviewed
study on the safety of Bt talong for human consumption and the environment;
(3) A study showed adverse effects on rats who were fed Bt corn, while local
scientists also attested to the harmful effects of GMOs to human and animal
health;
(4) Bt crops can be directly toxic to nontarget species as highlighted by a research
conducted in the US which demonstrated that pollen from Bt maize was toxic to
the Monarch butterfly;
(5) data from the use of Bt Cry1Ab maize indicate that beneficial insects have increased
mortality when fed on larvae of a maize pest, the corn borer, which had been fed on Bt,
and hence nontarget beneficial species that may feed on eggplant could be similarly
affected;
(6) Data from China show that the use of Bt crops (Bt cotton) can exacerbate populations
of other secondary pests;
(7) The built-in pesticides of Bt crops will lead to Bt resistant pests, thus increasing the
use of pesticides contrary to the claims by GMO manufacturers; and
(8) the 200 meters perimeter pollen trap area in the field testing area set by BPI is not
sufficient to stop contamination of nearby non-Bt eggplants because pollinators such as
honeybees can fly as far as four kilometers and an eggplant is 48% insect-pollinated. The
full acceptance by the project proponents of the findings in the MAHYCO Dossier was
strongly assailed on the ground that these do not precisely and adequately assess the
numerous hazards posed by Bt talong and its field trial.
An environmental impact statement (EIS) is
required and an environmental compliance
certificate (ECC) is necessary before such Bt
crop field trials can be conducted.
YES

Whether the respondents have a legal

standing on filing the suit
NO.
HUMAN AND
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH HAZARDS POSED BY
THE INTRODUCTION OF A GENETICALLY
MODIFIED PLANT, A VERY POPULAR STAPLE
VEGETABLE AMONG FILIPINOS

Whether the action is moot and

academic due to expiry of permits
 Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full
scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-
effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.—
 governments are obligated to “foresee and forestall” harm to the
environment.
 The precautionary principle bridges the gap in cases where
scientific certainty in factual findings cannot be achieved
 the court may construe a set of facts as warranting either judicial
action or inaction, with the goal of preserving and protecting the
environment.
YES.

Whether precautionary principle shall

apply
NO.

Whether the pending Bt talong field

trials may be continued
1. The conduct of the assailed field testing for Bt talong is
PERMANENTLY ENJOINED;
2. Department of Agriculture Administrative Order No. 08,
Series of 2002 is declared NULL AND VOID; and
3. Consequently, any application for contained use, field
testing, propagation and commercialization, and importation
of genetically modified organisms is TEMPORARILY
ENJOINED until a new administrative order is promulgated
in accordance with law.
On July 26, 2016, the SC en banc unanimous reversed
its previous ruling. The SC decision further stated
that since no commercial propagation of Bt talong
took place and research activities never went
beyond the field trial phase, “any future threat to the
public to a healthful and balanced ecology is more
imagined than real.”