‘Bt corn must be junked’

Filipino "believers" poured in as American hunger striker Andrew Haralam need not get hungry alone anymore. Three Filipinos from Baguio City joined him over the weekend and another one from Kalinga province is arriving today to sprawl himself at the pavement of the People’s Park to get their message across: Bt Corn Must Be Junked!

Twenty-three-year-old Igorot social activist William Tufay joined Haralam over the weekend. "The first two days were horrifying," he admitted. "But on my third day, my spirit were getting higher." Tufay is a volunteer of the Benguet province-based non-government organization Pine Tree and a member of the Igorot Tribal Action Group (ITAG).

Baguio-based Tingguian (Abra province) artist and composer Elmer Tadeo who is also on his third day now braving his hunger to awaken people of their cause said he will be with the hunger strikers up to his last breath. Benguet Igorot social activist Professor Michael Bengwayan has also joined the four others for days now. Bengwayan is a free-lance journalist and chief of the non-government group ITAG.

"I am in high spirits," beamed Haralam, who trekked this city five days ago to stage his protest all alone. But tables have turned in favor of him in what was an "alone in the dark crusade" at first, but support started coming in from Filipinos. In other developments, Malacañang expressed yesterday its willingness to give audience to a group of Filipino and foreign hunger strikers protesting the Philippine government policy allowing the propagation of Bt corn, a genetically modified organism (GMO), to enhance the country’s local corn productivity.

Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye told Palace reporters,yesterday the leaders of this BT corn hunger-strikers could make a formal request if they really want an audience with President Arroyo herself. "We’ll see if they make the formal representation, maybe, if not the President herself, at least a senior Palace official would be willing to meet with them," Bunye said. – Marichu Villanueva and Artemio Dumlao