Environment

Nearly 80 individuals, most of them schoolchildren, fell ill on Wednesday after they were exposed to toxic fumes from the banana plantation of Tadeco, which is owned by the Floirendos, in Dujali, Davao del Norte, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported. Authorities said at least 30 of the children passed out after inhaling a chemical used to kill worms in banana plants, the paper said.

This incident, the latest in a string of chemical poisoning in the Philippines the past week, is sure to revive the debate in Davao on how banana plantations are using chemicals, particularly aerial spraying. This early, one environment group warned that what happened in Dujali could happen in Davao.

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DAVAO CITY ? The Sentro ng Alternatibong Lingap Panlegal (Saligan), a national law group, asserts that? there is no law that would be affected by the proposed ordinance banning aerial spraying, a fact that gives the Davao City government a wide space for local legislation.

The absence of a national law on aerial spraying has already been repeatedly stressed by officials of the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority in several instances. No less than Dr. Norito Gicana, executive director of FPA, said in a letter that ?there is no specific law, circular or administrative order on aerial spraying.?

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