PH Biotech Community Zooms In on Regulation of Genome Edited Plants in the Country

The Philippines is looking at science-based, market-aligned agriculture, which is the perfect entry for biotech products. This was according to  Dr. Dionisio G. Alvendia, who spoke on behalf of the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture Dr. William Dar, during the Symposium on Risk Assessment and Regulation of Genome Edited Plants on October 8-9, 2019 held in Manila, Philippines.

Dr. Alvendia also expressed the government's excitement on the potential benefits of biotechnology since the country is entering a new age of agricultural evolution. Dr. Alvendia is the Director of the Philippine Center For Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHILMEC).

Local and international biosafety experts enlightened the delegates on the science of gene editing (GE), as well as how risk assessment and regulation of products of new plant breeding techniques are being considered in key countries such as Australia, Germany, Japan, and the United States. The potential implications of regulating GE plants on commercialization were also discussed.

More than a hundred delegates from Southeast Asia composed of scientists, risk assessors, regulators, and partners from the industry, research institutions, academe, and government and private organizations joined the symposium. It was organized by the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Plant Industry, Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines, and International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) Research Foundation.

For more details about biotechnology developments in the Philippines, visit the SEARCA BIC website.