Bishops Seek Dialogue with Arroyo over Aerial Spray

MANILA, Oct. 23, 2009-Catholic bishops on Friday said that they will seek a dialogue with President Arroyo to express their concerns to aerial spraying of pesticides in banana plantations.

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said all they want is to bring to Arroyo's attention concrete cases related to aerial dust cropping.

"We are hoping that the President will side [with] our concern, especially the demand of the affected residents from Davao, to stop aerial spraying," he said.

Along with them in seeking a dialogue with Arroyo, said Pabillo, is a group of farmers and indigenous peoples composing the environment group Mamayang Ayaw sa Aerial Spray (Maas).

The group came all from Davao to Manila recently to air their grievances against aerial spraying and to press for a ban on the practice, citing threats to communities around banana plantations in Davao.

Maas is primarily made up of residents around agricultural plantations who are protesting the chemical drifts in their environment.

The protesters are currently taking refuge inside Caritas Manila compound in Pandacan district, Manila.

Bananas are the second most abundant exported crop in the Philippines. Mindanao region produces 75 percent of the country's yield.

Philippine Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PGBEA) claims that the aerial spraying ban will cause substantial economic damage to the region.

But Pabillo contend that the health and welfare of farmers and residents around the banana plantation should take precedence over business interests.

The Catholic hierarchy's influence has been instrumental for the successful campaign of Sumilao farmers in 2008 to reclaim a vast agricultural land in Bukidnon province that they insist is rightfully theirs.

Same influence of the church also led to the extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) last August. (Roy Lagarde)