Biopiracy

CHEERS TO GMA-7’s Balitanghali and State of the Nation with Jessica Soho for looking into the issue of biopiracy in the Philippines.

The special report aired on SONA with Jessica Soho on August 13 and Balitanghali on August 14 revealed incidents of biopiracy in the country which date back to the 1970s. The Genetic Resources Action International (GRAIN), a non-government organization in Barcelona, said some of these include Ziconotide, a non-addictive painkiller from the cone snail toxin; an antibiotic from soil microbes found in Iloilo; an Ilang-Ilang perfume; an anti-diabetic drug from Banaba extract; and nata de coco.

The report also interviewed Dr. Baldomero Olivera, one of the two scientists who discovered Ziconotide. Olivera said he asked the biotechnology company to “donate some of the proceeds to the Philippines” if it were developed into a drug but “nothing came of it.”

National scientist Dr. Lourdes Cruz, Department of Environment and Natural Resources Biodiversity Management Bureau Director Theresa Mundita Lim, Department of Science and Technology Senior Science Research Specialist Caezar Arceo, and Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines Director-General Ricardo Blancaflor were also interviewed.

The report noted the lack of legal protection against biopiracy as well as a proper audit of biological materials. It added that there are only 100-230 researchers per one million Filipinos compared with the 2,000-6,000 researchers in other countries.

The report said the Philippines has yet to sign the Nagoya Protocol of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity which allows access to genetic resources for research in return for a fair share of benefits from their use.