Alarmed over the indiscriminate exposure of people and the environment to poison brought about by the use of airplanes in spraying chemicals to banana plantations, the Archdiocese of Manila urged the banana companies to stop using this method immediately.

Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales and three other bishops wrote an appeal letter to Stephen Antig, the executive director of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) on October 26, asking his members to stop aerial spraying in their plantations now since it is an “immoral practice that infringes upon human health and dignity”.

Expressing solidarity to the affected people of Mindanao, Cardinal Rosales and the bishops, appealed to the companies: “We strongly suggest that you rise to the occasion as socially responsible corporate citizens and, on your own volition, halt aerial spraying for public health and social peace.”

The bishops issued this letter in support to the farmers belonging to the Mamamayan Ayaw sa Aerial Spraying (MAAS) whose representatives are now in Manila asking Malacañang to issue an executive order banning the use of aerial spraying as an agricultural practice. MAAS is composed of farmers, indigenous peoples, youth, fisherfolks and former banana plantation workers who live within and around the plantations of Mindanao that are exposed to aerial spraying.

But since pesticide drift can reach up to 3.2 km, according to the US-Environmental Protection Agency, an estimate of 200,000 people in the provinces of Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Compostela Valley and Davao City could be affected, which raised alarm among the bishops. A Department of Health (DOH) study in Camocaan, Hagonoy, Davao del Sur which was done by government health experts including medical toxicologists confirms that 80 percent of the villagers of Camocaan were routinely exposed to pesticide drift. Pesticides were found in the villagers' blood and in air and soil samples.

Joining Cardinal Rosales are Auxiliary Bishops of Manila Broderick Pabillo and Bernardino Cortez and Kalookan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez. These bishops who commissioned the Archdiocese of Manila Ministry of Ecology to facilitate and assist the farmers while in Metro Manila, noted aerial spraying as “an immoral practice that infringes upon human health and dignity”. Therefore, they cannot allow this human suffering to go on any longer since anything that offends people, especially the poor, is an offense to God.

To support their call, they cited an encyclical letter “Caritas in Veritate” of Pope Benedict XV which stated, ““the Church has a responsibility towards creation and she must assert this responsibility in the public sphere. In so doing, she must defend not only earth, water and air gifts of creation that belong to everyone. She must above all protect mankind from self-destruction.”

The bishops further told Antig: “As the ethic of reciprocity reminds us all, do not do to others what you would not like to be done to you, please heed this very valid, relevant and urgent concern of the poorest of the poor farmer communities who existed long before your plantations opened.”

PBGEA is the aggru-pation of banana companies blocking the clamor to ban aerial spraying. It is composed of the following 18 companies: AMS Group of Companies, Inc., Sumifru Philippines, ANFLO Group of Companies, Alip River Development and Export Corporation, Del Monte Fresh Produce Philippines, La Frutera Incorporated, Lapanday Foods Corporation, Hijo Resources Corporation, Diamond Farms Inc, Dizon Group of Companies, Marsman-Drysdale Group of Companies, Nader and Ebrahim Hassan Philippines, Sarang-gani Agricultural Company Inc, Nova Vista Management and Development Corporation, Dole Stanfilco, Tristar Group of Banana Companies, Aztropex, Inc., and Unifrutti Services, Inc..

PBGEA is owned or operated by prominent families in the country such as the family of former Agriculture Secretary Cito Lorenzo, the Floirendos who are the political bigwigs of Davao del Norte, the families Ayala, Dizon and Soriano who are the business magnates of Davao City, and multi-national corporations.

Challenging the professed corporate social responsibility of these big business companies, the bishops strongly stressed: “Your heeding of our appeal will stop us from bringing to the attention of your international market the concerns of the poor farmers who have been victimized by your aerial spraying activities.”

The bishops also sent their letter to concerned government agencies namely DOH, Departments of Agriculture, the Environment and Natural Resources- Environment Management Bureau. The House Committee on Agriculture, Environment, Health and Senate Committee on Environment also received a copy of the bishops' letter.