by SunStar Davao

DAVAO--- THE banana company earlier accused of causing diseases on residents in Tamayong, Calinan due to its aerial spraying in the area Wednesday said the accusations are baseless and malicious.

Dr. Anacleto Pedrosa, technical services director of AJMR-AMS, said the press release of the Interface Development Interventions Inc. (Idis) has no basis whatsoever.

He said they had been operating in the area since 1973 and ever since there was no "explosion of diseases" in the area brought about by the aerial spraying as feared by the non-government organization.

In a press release, Lia Jasmin Esquillo, Interface Development Interventions Inc. (Idis) executive director, said there is a frightening link between people's pesticide exposure and their (serious) illnesses and diseases as cited by the Comprehensive Review of Pesticides Research by the Ontario College of Physicians (OCFP).

Esquillo claimed the National Research Council in the US said that only 10 percent of the pesticides commonly used have been adequately assessed for hazards and the long-term effects of most of the available pesticides are still to be identified.

Esquillo said only one to two percent of the sprayed chemicals actually reach the target pests and a predictable percentage of spray drift can reach up to 2 (3.2 kms) or more miles from the treatment site according to a 1994 report from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Ecological Effects Branch.

Pedrosa however said that aerial spraying is done only in areas where there are no residences. He said they are also observing buffer zones with a multipartite monitoring team in the area closely watching their operation.

"Our operation is very highly controlled and monitored," Pedrosa assured.

"Kung may mangyayaring disease explosion it should have happened a long time ago. More regulated na ang chemical use ngayon compared to before the creation of the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority," he added.

Idis claimed residents of Barangay Tamayong are threatened by the possible deadly effects of a banana company's aerial spraying practice to their health and to the environment.

Idis said that farmer Rosvilito Veloria was compelled to send his children to Davao City proper for fear that the chemicals sprayed using planes by the Soriano-owned AMS Corporations on their banana plantation in Tamayong could make them sick.

It added that farmers have been engulfed by this fear since the company started their operations in the village in 2000. Veloria was also concerned about the repercussion of the chemicals to their sources of water.

Pedrosa, however, told Sun.Star Davao that the main reason why Veloria's family transferred to the city proper was not due to fears of pesticide poisoning but due to marital problem.

"Ang pagkaalam naming ay naghiwalay itong si Veloria at ang asawa niya kaya lumipat na dito yung pamilya niya and not because of the deadly effects of the chemicals," Pedrosa said.

"Also we learned that itong mga taga Idis ay doon kumakain sa bahay ni Veloria pag andun sa area," he added.

He said this made them suspect the true motive of the NGO in making a fuss over the long settled issue.

"Alam naman nating nagbo-blow up lang sila ng issue so they get sympathy so they could get fundings. Let me just reiterate that everybody is concerned in the area about aerial spraying and we are doing the appropriate mitigating measures. It's not like Idis lang ang concerned sa environment and health," Pedrosa said.

"Di na kailangang takutin ang mga tao doon kasi they are already aware and are doing something about it," he added.

Pedrosa said that in their 35 years of operation in the area they had never been cited for gross violations of their responsibility to protect the environment and safeguard the health of the people in their area of operation.