Press Release
December 30, 2008

After exemptions expire on December 31, 2008:
Pia dares FPA to enforce total ban on endosulfan in 2009

Senator Pia S. Cayetano today urged the Fertilizers and Pesticides Authority (FPA) to make good on its commitment not to renew the exemptions it had been granting to the country's two giant pineapple producers which allowed the latter to continuously use endosulfan, despite the agency's enforcement of a nationwide ban on the highly toxic pesticide since 1993.

Data gathered by Cayetano's office revealed that the exemption granted by FPA to Del Monte Philippines Inc. (DMPI) and Dole Philippines Inc. (DPI) for continued use of the substance is scheduled to expire tomorrow, December 31, 2008.

The exemption was granted to DMPI and DPI as "institutional users" of endosulfan under FPA Board Resolution No.003-2005 which was approved by the agency on November 16, 2005 and took effect on January 1, 2006.

"I hope that for the safety of our farm workers as well as the environment, the FPA would have enough political will to finally impose a total ban on the use of endosulfan, which they themselves ordered 15 years ago," said Cayetano.

"Isn't fifteen years more than enough time for these big corporations to find safer and more environment-friendly alternatives? There should be no more exemptions by the FPA, if we are to start the new year right, "she added.

Prior to the latest FPA resolution, the exemption granted to the two multi-national corporations was reportedly renewed at least ten times since the FPA issued Board Resolution No.001-1993 on September 29, 1993, which banned endosulfan use after the agency found that it had become "the nation's foremost cause of poisoning through simple inhalation to skin exposure."

Endosulfan became a household word after it was discovered that the ill-fated MV Princess of the Stars which capsized off Sibuyan Island, Romblon in the middle of a strong typhoon last June, contained ten million metric tons of the toxic chemical. Retrieval operations were temporarily stopped amid fears of contamination.

Originally shipped from Israel by Del Monte for its vast pineapple pineapples in Bukidnon province, the cargo was safely retrieved from the sunken vessel's hull three months later on October. But this did not stop environmentalists and farmers' groups from questioning FPA's failure to enforce a total ban on the pesticide despite overwhelming evidence of its dangers to people's health and the environment.

As per the agreement of Del Monte and FPA, the retrieved cargo was supposed to be shipped back to its manufacturer in Israel, Makteshim Agan, for proper disposal.

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