PANGILINAN BLINKS revives coco chemical

PANGILINAN BLINKS

Revives Banned Coconut Chemical

This article is being sent to Senators in the hope that they can intervene.

http://www.sisterraquel.com/2014/09/pan

eastwind journals 128

By Bernie Lopez

eastwindreplyctr@gmail.com

Permission is granted to re-publish with credits and notification.

Disclaimer – the views in this article are those of the author’s alone.

The Pesticide Pyramid reveals that the multinational (in this case, Mitsui Chemical Inc. of Japan) orchestrates everyting from the top, that even Malacanang and government agencies (DA-PCA-DOST-FPA) are mere pawns in its drive for profits, to the detriment of the Filipino people. (click photo to blow up)

Author’s Note.

The author sent an open letter to Mr. Kiko Pangilinan, Presidential Assistant on Agriculture (http://www.sisterraquel.com/2014/09/letter-to-mr-p), who has the final say on the use or non-use of the deadly chemical Starkle, a neonicotinoid banned in the US/EU, to contain an insect infestation of coconut trees. The letter was a query why he apparently changed his mind about stopping its use. He said earlier to the press it would be stopped, contradicted by PCA officials who said they would continue using it in areas of Batangas.

The Cocolisap thrives in dry hot weather, and Typhoon Glenda arrested its growth. PCA’s alibi was that Typhoon Glenda did not hit 12 Batangas towns so heavily to justify the further use of Starkle in spite of Pangilinan’s previous order. PCA did not present scientific evidence to prove this, making the identification of the 12 towns arbitrary – Agoncillo, Balayan, Cuenca, Nasugbu, Padre Garcia, San Jose, San Juan, San Luis, San Nicolas, Sta. Teresita, Talisay, and Tuy. PCA elements have been suppressing non-chemical solutions proposed by scientists in its drive for the deadly chemical, which would bring in a windfall of ‘commissions’ in the millions.

In the absence of a reply from Mr. Pangilinan, I assume he has blinked and is reviving the use of the deadly chemical. Contrary to PCA claims, a recent appraisal conducted by UPLB scientists within the 12 towns revealed that the Cocolisap is being parasitized, meaning a parasite is aggressively killing it. Parasitation in some sampled leaves were as much as 100%. This implies that infestation is under nature’s control and there is no longer any emergency or need for human intervention.

The drive to use Starkle has been stalled because contractors failed to submit liquidation reports by the deadline of August 22, 2014, which was a requirement to receive a new batch. This implies that many farmers and plantations are refusing the chemical. The move to open up the use in the 12 Batangas towns is apparently to unload unused chemical stocks to be able to get more. Is there a danger they will get ghost farmers and secretly dump the chemical somewhere to be able get a new batch? Otherwise, contractors and their agents in government, universities, or corporations, will lose millions in ‘commissions’. In San Pablo City, PCA reportedly offered cash payments to marginal farmers to entice them to agree to the use of Starkle.

In its entire history worldwide, the chemical HAS NEVER BEEN USED ON A MASSIVE SCALE as what PCA plans (trunk injection on 1.2 million trees, if not more). No one knows its long term ecological effects. Injection of a deadly chemical into the heart of the coconut tree, not just on leaves or roots, is another first, which affects the entire tree, including its fruits. Vendors complain buyers find coconut juice to be sour. PCA received the first trance of P38.5 million in June 2014 for the chemical option, out of a total budget of a staggering P700 million under EO 168. We request the Senators to please freeze the budget until the chemical is forever banned. And, in the absence of an emergency, we request the budget to be reversed back to the DBM to stop the pressure to get more ‘commissions’.

Pangilinan and PCA have been repeatedly warned that once worldwide buyers of our coconut oil discover that we will inject coconut trees with a banned chemical, our multi-billion market which supports 25 million marginals may vanish in the blink of an eye. eastwindreplyctr@gmail.com

Here are background materials for Senators, links to previous articles –

(Note. No. 7 explains scientifically the massive ecological impact

of neonicotinoids like Starkle, that has triggered a global moratorium)

1. The Coconut Crisis

http://www.sisterraquel.com/2014/06/massive-infestation

2. The PCA-SAGIP-UPLB Syndicate Suppresses Organic Options

http://www.sisterraquel.com/2014/06/pca-uplb

3. Replies to PCA-SAGIP Statements

http://www.sisterraquel.com/2014/07/pcas-reply

4. Did PCA-SAGIP receive allowances from the chemical firm?

http://www.sisterraquel.com/2014/07/accupressure

5. 100,000 San Pablo Coco Trees chemicalized by PCA-SAGIP