A crop duster plane sprays fungicide to protect the 7,000 hectare banana plantation of Tagum Agricultural Development Co. from destructive leaf virus in Tagum in Davao del Norte province, located in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on April 22, 2008. AFP FILE PHOTO
DAVAO CITY, Philippines鈥揊urther delay in the Supreme Court鈥檚 ruling over a city ordinance banning aerial spraying in banana plantations exposes more children to pesticide drifts, particularly since schools opened in June, environment groups warned.
鈥淥n top of the usual lack of classrooms and teachers, school children near banana plantations endure an added risk to their health by inhaling pesticide drifts as classes start,鈥� said Dagohoy Magaway, president of the group Mamamayan Ayaw sa Aerial Spraying (Maas).
He said a meeting with affected communities in February revealed that parents were increasingly worried about pesticide drifts, as spray planes resumed aerial spraying in the city鈥檚 agricultural districts of Wangan and Dacudao.
In 2007, the City Council passed an ordinance banning aerial spray among banana plantations, but a strong lobby from banana growers and exporters belonging to the Philippine Banana Growers and Exporters Association put its implementation on hold. Business groups questioned the constitutionality of the ordinance before the Court of Appeals, which overturned a lower court decision in favor of PBGEA, and prompted the group Maas to elevate the question to the Supreme Court.
But until now, the Supreme Court has yet to issue its final ruling.
Magaway said the absence of a final ruling from the Supreme Court has emboldened plantations to resume the dangerous practice of aerial spraying in the communities.
鈥淲e call on the High Court to issue a final ruling,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur children and families have long been inhaling the toxic pesticide drift since the 鈥�70s. Please do not wait until we are all dead, and our watersheds ruined beyond recovery,鈥� Magaway said.
He said grandmothers told him their 鈥済randchildren reported having felt pesticide drifts from a passing spray plane while singing the national anthem during the morning flag ceremonies.鈥�
鈥淭hey (the grandparents) spoke at the gathering, sharing their concerns about the pesticide drift,鈥� Dagohoy said.
鈥淏ut at the same time, they were concerned about their relatives working in the banana plantations; they were afraid the banana companies will fire them if they talk, so they refused to come out in the open,鈥� he added.