Excerpts from the Committee Report
• “We have heard both sides of the issue. Public health and environment vs. local economy.”
• “The two are of great importance to any civilization. But when both factors collide, the policy of the State comes in to shed light and to remind us of the basic framework in which the government is created.”
• “The Constitution provides in Article II thereof, that,
– Section 15, “The State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them”
– Section 16, “The State shall protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature”.
• “Given the vastness of the reach of aerial spraying, the said form of dispensation falls into the category of a public nuisance which in turn is defined by the New Civil Code as any “act, omission, establishment, condition of property, or anything else which injures or endangers the health or safety of others, or annoys or offends the senses …, or obstructs or interferes with the free passage of any public highway or street, or any body of water, or hinders or impairs the use of property”.
• “Be it remembered that the Committee is not against banana plantations, but against the method of aerial spraying of pesticides employed by roughly 25% of the agricultural entities.”
• “To remain indifferent to the plight of those being aerially sprayed with pesticides is inhuman.”
Prepared by : IDIS June 2007
