News Details

Advocates Urge Negros Occidental to Uphold GMO-Free Policy

NPO

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September 3, 2025

BACOLOD CITY – Religious, civic, and agriculture advocates are calling on Negros Occidental to preserve its GMO-free status amid reports of moves to reverse the province’s landmark ordinance banning genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

In a joint statement titled “Declaration against GMO Testing in Negros Occidental” released Tuesday, 22 signatories declared their opposition to any GMO testing, introduction, or cultivation in the province.

“GMOs have no place in organic agriculture, nor in the future of Negros Occidental,” the statement read.

The signatories include San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, Fr. Julius Espinosa of Caritas Bacolod Social Action Foundation, Edgardo Uychiat of the Negros Island Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Foundation, and Ramon Uy Jr. of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM).

Negros Occidental has been GMO-free since 2007 through Ordinance No. 07, which prohibits the entry, importation, cultivation, and trade of GMO plants and animals. The province has also been recognized as the country’s Organic Agriculture Capital and is set to host the 2027 Organic World Congress organized by IFOAM.

Advocates warned that allowing GMO testing would undermine decades of progress in organic farming, risk contamination, and erode consumer trust.

“Negros has already chosen a different path. Its GMO-free status is not only a legal framework but also a moral and cultural commitment to protect its people, lands, and future generations,” they stressed.

They urged provincial and local governments, national agencies, and academic institutions to strictly uphold and enforce the GMO ban with “no exemptions or compromises.”

“Negros Occidental must remain GMO-free. Its destiny lies in being a model for ecological food systems, not a testing ground for technologies that threaten our land, our health, and our future,” they added.

— NPO News Team | PNA-PR