Members of Davao City's Task Force Against Aerial Spray -- (from left) Lia Esquillo, Rene Pineda and Corazon Sabinada -- hold up posters calling for a ban against the aerial spraying of pesticides that also says in Cebuano, "We are not pests," after filing a petition asking the Supreme Court to uphold a local ban on the practice employed by banana and other fruit growing companies, which the petitioners say has caused serious health and environmental effects. INQUIRER.net/TETCH TORRES
Davao folk ask SC to uphold aerial spraying ban By Tetch Torres INQUIRER.net First Posted 15:22:00 07/25/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- Residents of Davao City have asked the Supreme Court to reverse a Court of Appeals ruling and to uphold a local ordinance banning the aerial spraying of pesticides in banana and other fruit plantations.
In its 43-page petition for certiorari, the Task Force Against Aerial Spray said it was wrong of the appellate court to rule that the Davao regional trial court’s decision upholding the ban put in jeopardy the right of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association Inc (PBGEA), Davao Fruits Corporation and Lapanday Agricultural and Development Corporation.
The group said that, on the contrary, there is no such thing as a right to conduct aerial spraying and that the appellate court disregarded the harmful effects of spraying on the health of residents in the affected communities.
"Plainly put, the conduct o aerial spraying does not constitute a right,” the petition said. “If the Court of Appeals only kept in mind that a right, properly understood, originates from an obligation clearly defined by law, agreements, or customary norms, then it would have seen that the conduct of aerial spraying, being a mere method to release toxic substances over an area, is not a right under the law. By concluding otherwise, the Honorable Court of Appeals commits clear and grave abuse of discretion."
Lawyer Marlon Manuel said the aerial spraying has affected residents not only of Davao but other areas of Mindanao as well.
He rued the fact that the appeals court disregarded the fact that, aside from Davao City, several provinces in Mindanao have passed ordinances banning aerial spraying.
Records from September 2006 that the task force presented showed that in three affected communities in Davao City alone, there were 22 cases of cancer, 22 of hypertension, 16 of tuberculosis, 10 each of measles and goiter, seven each of cerebral palsy and myoma, and six of asthma, which the group blamed on aerial spraying.
Other adverse effects the group recorded included birth defects, thyroid problems and contact dermatitis.
The task force also noted that in areas where aerial spraying is conducted regularly, trees and plants have withered, domestic animals are sickly and hogs have developed scouring.
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