Group Says It's Ready in Banana Wars

DAVAO CITY -- While saying that the banana industry has the right to
question the legality of the approved ordinance that banned aerial
spraying in Davao City, an environmental nongovernment organization
has expressed readiness to face the challenge of the possible legal
battle, taking confidence on the gravity of the reasons behind the ban
being health and environment.

Lia Jasmin Esquillo, executive director of the Interface Development
Interventions, Inc. (Idis), said their group has been anticipating for
the banana industry to exhaust all avenues they could find available
just to stop the full implementation of the ordinance signed into law
in February.

The ban, which gave banana plantations three months to make the
necessary changes in their operations, will take effect by June 22.

"We have already expected for the banana industry to exploit the
available space of being in a democracy. But we are ready for whatever
they could come up with as we did before and we are confident that the
law will favor the welfare of the people and the protection of the
environment," Esquillo said.

Esquillo said that they believe the law will see uphold the
constitutional right of the people to a safe environment and healthy
life. These were the same arguments, strongly backed by the
precautionary principle, used to dense-up the demand to ban aerial
spraying.

Recently, Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association Chair
Stephen Antig, said they will question the legality of the ordinance
and expressed their desire for the city government to reconsider their
three-month phase-out period.

The three-month period, according to Antig, is too short for the
PBGEA-member to shift from aerial spraying to ground spraying
procedures. He also said that the Philippines is the only country
where aerial spraying in banana plantation is banned.

Esquillo also said that the banana companies were given more than
enough time to during the council deliberations to "negotiate for a
favorable phase-out period but what did they offer? 25 years? What do
they think of the Dabawenyos? Stupid?"

While admitting the fact that it is only in the Philippines that
aerial spraying ban is imposed in banana plantations, Esquillo said
that the same calls in other banana producing countries are also being
strongly pushed.

Esquillo is referring to Costa Rica and Columbia. She stressed that
calls to ban aerial spraying is also strong in Alaska, Maine and
California in USA, Victoria in Canada, New Zealand, India and some
countries in the Europe.

Aerial spraying of pesticides is also banned in Denmark, Estonia,
Slovenia and with partial bans in Italy, Australia and Belgium.

In the Philippines, aerial spraying in banana plantations was banned
in Bukidnon in 2001.