MANILA, Philippines?Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales and bishops in Metro Manila have asked President Macapagal-Arroyo to issue an executive order to permanently ban the aerial spraying of pesticides in banana plantations in Mindanao since the practice has indiscriminately caused harm to residents, crops and livestock around plantations.

The Catholic Church leaders wrote Ms Arroyo a letter dated Oct. 29 appealing to her sense of ?motherly care for the future generations.?

?We are one with all affected people of Mindanao in working for deliverance from this immoral practice of aerial spraying that infringes upon human health and dignity,? they said.

The letter was hand-delivered by Manila Auxiliary Bishop Bernardino Cortez to Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita on Nov. 9, during a top-level dialogue between Church leaders, government officials and civil society advocates.

Also at the dialogue were 12 farmers representing the Mamamayan Ayaw sa Aerial Spraying (MAAS), a group of farmers who live around banana plantations where pesticides are released from airplanes.

A statement issued by the Archdiocese of Manila said it was agreed during the dialogue that the Department of Health will make a recommendation to the President to order a ban on aerial spraying in the light of various studies that showed illnesses and harm caused by the indiscriminate spraying of pesticides.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Agriculture also agreed to support the DOH's recommendation, according to the statement.

Aside from Bishop Cortez and the 12 MAAS farmers, the dialogue was also attended by Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez, Infanta Emeritus Bishop Xavier Labayen, former poll chairman Christian Monsod and representatives of non-government organizations, the Archdiocese of Manila Ecology Desk and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines' National Secretariat for Social Action.

On the part of the government, Ermita was joined by Environment Secretary Lito Atienza and other DENR officials, Health Undersecretary Mario Villaverde and other DOH officials, and representatives from the DA and the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority.

During the dialogue, the bishops also asked Malacañang to stop the construction of the Laiban Dam since this will destroy precious forest cover.

Cardinal Rosales and other bishops have written the President last Sept. 14 to oppose the project which they said would submerge 28,000 hectares of forest and would destroy the ecosystems of the towns of General Nakar, Real and Infanta and worsen the threat of flooding and pollution in Metro Manila.

The bishops also pointed out that dam would stand on a seismic fault line.

Instead of building the dam, the bishops suggested other water-saving measures such as repairing leakages in water pipes and declaring the Marikina Watershed Reservation as a protected area and expedite reforestation efforts there.