Governor-elect Alfredo Marañon Jr. yesterday said the push to make Negros Island an organic food bowl and the ban on the entry of Genetically Modified Organisms, with a few exemptions, will continue under his administration.

Marañon said he recently met with Rep. George Arnaiz and provincial officials of Negros Oriental and they have committed to continue to support the Negros Island joint effort toward organic food production.

It was during the governorship of Arnaiz in Negros Oriental and the late Gov. Joseph Marañon in Negros Occidental that a Memorandum of Agreement was signed for Negros Island to go organic.

Governor-elect Marañon said the ordinance banning GMO in Negros Occidental will stay with a few amendments to allow for items, such as medicines with GMOs, to enter the province.

But the ban on seedlings for GMO crops will stay, he said.

He said GMO-free animal feeds for poultry and livestock in the province are cheaper. GMO seeds are more expensive and the ones making money are the multi-national companies who propagate them, Marañon said.

Meanwhile, Marañon said he is still hoping Manuel Lamata, president of the United Sugar Producers Federation of the Philippines, will be named the new Sugar Regulatory Administrator.

One of the problems in the sugar industry is smuggling and Lamata has a track record in the apprehension of smugglers, said Marañon, who conveyed his recommendation to President-elect Benigno Aquino III during the recent visit to Negros Occidental of his sisters, Ballsy Aquino-Cruz and Pinky Aquino-Abellada.

On the provincial level, Marañon said he will observe the performance of Dr. Ernell Tumimbang as acting provincial health officer before making his appointment permanent.

There is a certain time that is needed to observe an OIC to see if he is fitted for a position, he added.*CPG

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