Dear Friends.

Hope you can support this letter initiated by the EcoWaste Coalition, GAIA and the Pesticide Action Network-Philippines urging Agriculture Secretary to take immediate action towards a national and global ban on endosulfan,  a highly toxic pesticide.  Let us know by tomorrow 12:00 noon at the latest if we can include you in the list of concerned NGOs and individuals endorsing this letter.  Thank you very much for your prompt response, and for your solidarity.  Manny C. Calonzo

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Hon. Proceso J. Alcala
Secretary
Department of Agriculture
Republic of the Philippines

Dear Secretary Alcala,

URGENT APPEAL TO BAN ENDOSULFAN

We are writing with urgency to appeal to the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) to impose a national ban on endosulfan and to back a global ban of this highly hazardous organochlorine pesticide under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) of which the Republic of the Philippines is a party.

The national ban on endosulfan will bolster the “temporary ban” on its importation, distribution and use under Memorandum Circular 2009-02 issued by then Environment Secretary Jose L. Atienza “to protect the public health from any undesirable risks (and) hazards on the use of endosulfan.”

The global ban will be in concurrence with the recommendation made by the POPs Review Committee (POPRC) of the Stockholm Convention in October 2010 to add endosulfan, after a rigorous process for evaluating the said chemical, to Annex A of the treaty as a new POP for worldwide elimination.

The FPA, of which you are the Chair of the Board of Directors, is empowered by P.D. 1144 “to restrict or ban the use of any pesticide.. upon evidence that the pesticide is an imminent hazard, has caused, or is causing widespread serious damage to crops, fish or livestock, or to public health and environment.”

Copious assessments of the human health and ecological risks of endosulfan by governments, academics and citizens’ groups, including testimonies from pollution victims, have confirmed the toxic, bio-accumulative and persistent characteristics of endosulfan, providing the agency with a solid basis to act with resolve.

We therefore urge your office to please expedite a process that will lead to the adoption of the above two-fold policy in time for the upcoming fifth Conference of Parties (COP5) of the Stockholm Convention in Geneva, Switzerland on April 25-29, 2011.

The decision to ban endosulfan in the Philippines should be easy, non-contentious and defensible as the country has no registered use at all for endosulfan following the decision by Del Monte and Dole pineapple companies not to renew their license to import and use the highly toxic pesticide since 2008.  The companies have shifted to alternative pesticides in the aftermath of the deadly M.V. Princess of the Stars maritime tragedy where some 10 metric tons of endosulfan also went down with the ill-fated passenger ship.

For your information, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in June 2010 announced its action to terminate all uses of endosulfan because it “poses unacceptable risks to agricultural workers and wildlife, and can persist in the environment.”  Prior to this, over 80 governments, including the state governments of Kerala and Karnataka in India, the 27-country European Union and the governments of Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea and Sri Lanka, have taken decisive steps to protect human health and the environment by phasing out and banning endosulfan.We hope that through your wise and able leadership the Philippines will rise to this global public health and environmental challenge and join the community of nations towards  “eliminating endosulfan from the face of the earth.”

Sincerely yours,
NAME / ORGANIZATION

Note: For your signature and confirmation please email Manny Calonzo at mcalonzo@no-burn.org

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