Last week, the President of the Philippines signed into law the Philippine Plant Variety Protection Act. It is based on the UPOV Convention (1991 Act). Below is the official announcement from the government, followed by a joint statement from Philippine farmers' groups, indigenous peoples' organisations, scientists and NGOs. TITLE: GMA approves law creating NPVPB to protect plant varieties AUTHOR: Government of the Philippines PUBLICATION: Press Release DATE: 7 June 2002 URL: http://www.gov.ph/news/default.asp?newsid=1471 Government of the Philippines Press Release 07 June 2002 GMA APPROVES LAW CREATING NPVPB TO PROTECT PLANT VARIETIES President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo today approved the law that would establish a body that would oversee and implement the protection of plant varieties in the country. In simple rites at Malacañang's Ceremonial Hall, the President formally signed Republic Act 9168, also known as the Philippine Plant Variety Protection Act of 2002. Under the new law, the National Plant Variety Protection Board (NPVPPB) would manage the implementation of the Plant Variety Protection (PVP) system that would determine ownership over new plant varieties. The new law also established the Gene Trust Fund that would support the preservation of germplasm by government and private sector groups. RA 9168 is aimed at protecting and securing the exclusive rights of plant breeders with respect to their new plant variety, particularly when beneficial to people, through an effective intellectual property system. Under the PVP system, a plant breeder could apply for a PVP certificate over a new plant variety from the board. A certificate and all attendant ownership rights would be given to the plant breeder if the plant variety has passed the test of distinctness, uniformity, stability, and newness. Holders of a certificate of plant variety would have the right to authorize the production or reproduction, conditioning for the purpose of propagation, offering to sale, selling or other marketing strategies, exporting, importing and stocking of the plant variety. A provision on exemption to plant variety protection has acknowledged the traditional right of the farmer to save, use, replant and sell his produce from a protected variety, provided that propagation is not being done for commercial purposes. 2002 Copyright © Gov.ph. TITLE: Farmers, indigenous peoples, scientists and NGOs criticize PVP law that strengthens TNC monopoly over seeds: US meddling exposed AUTHORS: (see list of signatories at the end) PUBLICATION: News Release DATE: 12 June 2002 News Release June 12, 2002 Magsasaka at Siyentipiko Para sa Ikauunlad ng Agricultura (MASIPAG) 3346 Aguila Street, Rhoda's Subdivision, Anos, Los Banos, Laguna Tel No: +63-49-5365549 or +63-49-5366183 Contact Person: Ms. Rowena Buena or Emmanuel Yap FARMERS, INDIGENOUS PEOPLES, SCIENTISTS AND NGOS CRITICIZE PVP LAW THAT STRENGTHENS TNC MONOPOLY OVER SEEDS: US MEDDLING EXPOSED In a joint statement, farmers groups, indigenous people organizations, NGOs and scientist groups criticize President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's signing of the Plant Variety Protection Act of 2002. The groups claim that the PVP Act of 2002 violates farmers' inherent and traditional rights to seeds and its associated knowledge. It is a threat to biodiversity, sustainable agriculture and food security. It will harm research and innovation and will further strengthen multi-national and transnational corporations' control of over Philippine Agriculture. The group also hit US meddling in the legislation of the PVP Act. It cited a white paper circulated during the bicameral meeting to finalize the bill which exposed how, through a USAID-funded think-tank, Development Alternatives, Inc., the US government has influenced the framing of the bill to suit American corporate interests. Rafael Mariano, Chairperson of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas, vowed to mobilize their entire national network to challenge the passage of this law in the parliament of the streets. Ka Paeng Mariano claimed that the law was passed with hardly any consultation of the affected sector, the farmers. "This is a pathetic and unforgettable independence day gift from President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to the Filipino farmers. The law violates basic and historic rights of farmers to seeds" Rafael Mariano said. On the other hand Mario Denito, farmer leader and former board member of MASIPAG, a national network of organizations actively involved in enhancing farmer-led breeding and crop improvement through a farmer-scientist partnership, claimed that "the PVP Act is not about enhancing food security nor agricultural research and development in the country; it is about organizing marketing and distribution of corporate controlled seeds and technologies for greater corporate profits". Ms. Elenita C. Dano, executive director of the South East Asia Regional Initiatives for Community Empowerment (SEARICE), said that the approval by congress and signing into law by President Arroyo is a "mockery of democracy as well as a parody of the independence of our legislators as they passed a law, with US meddling, that will push our small farmers deeper into the sinkhole of dependence on seed companies and will curtail farmers' rights to seeds." Giovanni Tapang, Chairperson of Agham, a group of scientist and technologists claimed that the law as crafted will confuse the Filipino citizen, particularly the farmers, of the laws real intentions. While the law mentions some kind of Exception to allow small farmers to use and exchange seeds and has established a Gene Trust Fund supposedly to strengthen genetic conservation, these provisions are meaningless. Taken as a whole, the law is vague and is subject to the interpretation by the current Plant Variety Protection Board that is dominated by corporate and government interests. For the past decade, the Philippines like many developing countries has been under tremendous pressure from industrialized countries and the global seed industry to allow for IPR on plant varieties in order to comply with the agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) of the World Trade Organization (WTO); among them, the need to provide Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) over plant varieties. The signatories of the joint statement are: KMP (Kilusang Magbubukid sa Pilipinas) MASIPAG (Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-Unlad ng Agrikultura) AGHAM (Samahang ng Nagtataguyod ng Agham at Tecknolohiya para sa Sambayanan) SEARICE (South East Asia Regional Initiatives for Community Empowerment) SIBAT (Sibol ng Agham at Teknolohiya KAMP (Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamayan sa Pilipinas) Tabak (Tunay na Alyansa ng Bayan Alay sa Katutubo) PCPR (Promotion of Church Peoples' Response) PUEEP-UCCP (Program Unit on Ecology and Environmental Protection of the National Council of Churches in The Philippines) TEBTEBBA Foundation, Inc. (Indigenous People's International Center for Policy Research and Education). _ GOING FURTHER (compiled by GRAIN) Perfecto G. Corpuz, "Philippine Planting Seeds Annual 2002", US Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Services, Global Agriculture Information Network Report# 2042, May/June 2002, 12 pp. (Expresses industry's specific objection to the "farmers' privilege" in the new PVP law. Nonetheless, predicts that imports of US seed into the Philippines will surge due to this new legal framework.) http://www.fas.usda.gov/scripts/gd.asp?ID=145683659 International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, "Philippine President Signs Plant Variety Protection Act of 2002", CropBiotech Net, ISAAA, Los Baños, 7 June 2002. http://www.isaaa.org/kc/News/CBTnews/CBTN_recent.html "Democracy as an Illusion? How AGILE/DAI Promotes US Interests at the Expense of Farmers? Rights", Manila, May 2002. (A "white paper" on the role of USAID, through its in-country AGILE programme, in the drafting and passage of the Philippine PVP Act.) Copies may be requested by email from searice(at)searice.org.ph AGILE's web page on its Philippine PVP advocacy programme: http://tamis.dai.com/projects/AGILE/AGILEAdv.nsf/806105ce9f dbe9e8482567f2000d278e/ae26956f5ad15aaf4825680b0026a8c3?Open Document