ADVANCE COPY TO SENATORS DUE TO URGENCY IN BATANGAS. If Noynoy plans to do nothing about this urgent problem, we are asking the Senators to conduct an inquiry, and for NGOs and farmers to charge PCA, the FPA, Pangilinan, and Mitsui Chemicals in the Supreme Court for endangering the environment and the lives of Filipinos, and for inducing a possible mega-disaster.
http://www.sisterraquel.com/2014/10/10-brands
eastwind journals 134 By Bernie V. Lopez eastwindreplyctr@gmail.comPermission is granted to re-publish. Disclaimer – the views in this article are those of the author alone.
1) TEN BRANDS OF NEONICOTINOID IN USE SINCE 1990s Used extensively nationwide for years with effects not known.
The deadly chemical neonicotinoid, which has recently caused a furor due to its use to eradicate an insect infestation of coconut trees, has actually been extensively used nationwide since the 1990s, mainly for rice, mangoes, eggplants and other fruits and vegetables, under ten brand names. Farmers and consumers are not aware that 1) this chemical is 10,000 times more deadly than the banned DDT, 2) it is banned in the US and EU in spite of licenses questionably issued by our Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA), and 3) it can irreversibly poison our water table and watersheds. The chemical is so potent that one has to be a licensed handler. It can easily be absorbed upon skin contact, affects the eyes if sprayed, and lungs if inhaled. Warning to the public, neonicotinoid affects the nervous and immunity systems of insects, and possible also humans in large doses, but marketed as having little or no effects on humans. It is water-soluble and when sprayed, only 5% is retained on leaves, the rest drips to the soil, then spread to potable ground water and river systems. It is not known if accumulated ingestion in small amounts may cause cancer. The multinationals, who are the ultimate culprits in spreading these deadly toxins in the Third World in spite of being banned in developed countries, include Mitsui and Sumitomo of Japan, Syngenta of Switzerland, and Bayer of Germany. The US Bee Keepers’ Association is suing Bayer and Syngenta for $450 million for ‘colony collapse disorder’ (mass extinction of bees) in one of the biggest class-action suit in American history. There are moves towards a ‘global moratorium’ on neonicotinoid, but no one seems to be able to stop the multinationals. A Filipino scientist, who requested anonymity, revealed the ten brands as 1) Dinotefuran / Starkle sold by LEADS/Mitsui Chemicals, 2) Oshin, by Biostadt, 3-6) Thiametoxam / Actara, Cruizer, Thiametoxam+Pyrethroid / Alika, and Thiametoxam + Diamide Voliam Flexi, by Syngenta, 7-9) Imidachloprid Confidor, Gaucho, and Imidachloprid + Pyrethroid by Bayer, and 10) Clothianidin by Dantop Sumitomo. In July 2013, in Elmwood, Ontario, Canada, 37 million bees were discovered massacred by neonicotinoid-laced GMO corn. In the Philippines, texts poured in after the report on PCA – Joel Magsaysay of Ilog Maria, 200 of 800 hives massacred, Lito Misa, unknown number, Bert Peter, 9 hives, Daisy Farm of Isabela, 2 hives. These are tell-tale signs of a looming agricultural disaster. Never mind the bees. How about the rice, fish, fruits and vegetables we eat? To demonstrate the power of multinationals to influence Philippine jurisprudence with the FPA as their partner, the Supreme Court squashed legal claims by FPA that they have the right to regulate operations of local firms that impinge on the sales of multinationals. Their regulatory powers are limited to banning chemicals, not banning company operations. In FPA vs Mapecon, G.R. 161594, June 18, 2007, the court ruled with finality that FPA regulatory powers do not cover company operations. The practice of powerful multinationals to suppress through the FPA the local sales of Mapecon was based on a milestone invention by its owner, Jun Catan, of a cheap non-toxic organic-based pesticide, which made the multinationals panic that this would dramatically undermine their sales of expensive toxic chemical pesticides. Such multinational malpractices in the Third World have been going on for decades. They know it easy to offer ‘benefits’ to poor bureaucrats. Someone has to stop this FPA-multinational partnership to poison the food we eat and the fields we plant on. Noynoy or a Senate inquiry should order the ban of the FPA-approved ten brands. Somebody has to file a case with the Supreme Court to stop banned chemicals in Philippine agriculture. eastwindreplyctr@gmail.com
2) PCA STILL USING NEONICONTINOID IN BATANGAS In spite of its announcement to stop use In defiance of Pangilinan or with his consent? In spite of decreased infestation nullifying EO 169
It is not known if people under Agricultural Czar Kiko Pangilinan are defying his orders, or if he himself is giving the order. Because of extreme pressures from protests, Pangilinan and Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) head — Alarcon issued press statements that PCA would stop the use of the deadly neonicotinoid under the brand name Starkle and resort to the use of harmless organics. There was no longer any emergency requiring the use of toxic chemicals because typhoon Glenda had dissipated the infestation. Under RA 6969, the use of Starkle is illegal because it does not have a permit for use from the Environment Management Bureau, in spite of its FPA questionable license. Suddenly, their USEC issued contradictory statements that they will continue to use Starkle in 12 towns in Batangas because they were not affected by typhoon Glenda and infestation was still heavy. The selection of the 12 towns as still having heavy infestation was in fact blatantly arbitrary because PCA did not present survey data to prove their claim. In fact, a survey in such a short time until the decision on the 12 towns was impossible to do.
The fact that there is no more strong infestation, the emergency use of toxic chemicals as justified in EO 169 is nullified.
The real reason posed by protestors was that the money had already been released and the chemical purchased. If contractors do not submit a liquidation report that they had indeed used the chemicals, they cannot be given a new batch. There would be a loss of ‘commissions’ on unused chemicals. PCA in fact fears holding on to tons of toxic chemicals they can no longer use. There is thus pressure to use them in spite of the chemicals deadly effects on health and environment. P37 million was released to PCA in June 2014 to be used for Starkle. Now that the word is out in the media, and farmers are aware of the bad effects of the chemical, no one will dare agree to have their trees injected with Starkle. Unscrupulous elements within PCA will therefore find ways to dispose of the chemicals by hook or by crook. Farmers in Laguna report they were offered cash if only they would agree to use the chemicals. There are also reports that they have persuaded some mayors in Laguna and Batangas to agree to the proliferation of the toxic chemicals. Before protests erupted, PCA planned to use the neonicotinoid-based Starkle on a massive scale, a first ever-to-be in human history, targeting a mind-boggling 2.4 million coconut trees, whose long term effects are not known. Toxicologists claim that at this scale, it has the capability to disrupt irreversibly in the long-term the entire ecological food chain, undermine food security, and induce regional famines. Also, when the global buyers of our coconut oil finds out, our multi-billion dollar export trade will vanish in the blink of an eye. eastwindreplyctr@gmail.com
(Sources – http://www.sisterraquel.com/2014/07/bibliography).
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lord, let me sing to You until I am nothing but a song let me speak of You until I am nothing but Your Word let me talk to You until I am nothing but a prayer let me bear Your tidings until I am nothing but Your Light ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Lord be the Mirror that we may see ourselves in You and You in ourselves be the Window that we may look beyond ourselves and see the beauty in others be the Music that we will hear in times of darkness that will soothe our souls be the Wind on our sails as we head for home into the warmth of Your embrace be the Fire that moves our spirits and kindles our energy to work for You ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ what makes water gold is the sun water by itself is clear and colorless the water is your soul the sun is the Light of the Lord in you
eastwind
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