Over 170 farmers, students, professors, and other stakeholders attended the public briefing and symposium about the Joint Department Circular on biotech crops and biosafety on September 28, 2016 at the Sarabia Manor Hotel and Convention Center, Iloilo City.

West Visayas State University professor, Stephen Sabinay, gave an overview of biotechnology and GM crops. Ms. Julieta Fe Estacio, Head Secretariat of the National Committee on Biosafety of the Philippines (NCBP), and Ms. Merle Palacpac, Chief of the Plant Quarantine Service of the Bureau of Plant Industry, introduced the new Philippine regulatory system for GM crops to the public, highlighting the differences of the old and new guidelines. After the lectures, an open forum with a panel of resource persons from the Department of Health, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Science and Technology tackled issues on the new regulations and GM crops. Drs. Fernando Bernardo and Rex Navarro of the Coalition for Agriculture Modernization in the Philippines (CAMP) discussed about agricultural modernization and climate smart agriculture, respectively.

The event was organized by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture - Biotechnology Information Center (SEARCA BIC), in collaboration with CAMP and the Department of Agriculture.

For more details, visit the SEARCA BIC website.