The Environment and Natural Resources Department has ordered the suspension of aerial spraying of pesticides and fungicides in banana plantations in Region 11, which comprises the three Davao provinces and Compostela Valley.
Environment Secretary Jose “Lito” Atienza Jr. said on radio he also ordered the creation of a buffer zone on aerial spraying to make sure traces of fungicide or pesticide are kept away from residential areas.
Atienza issued the suspension order after residents, local church groups and militants had voiced opposition to aerial spraying, citing its threat to residents’ health.
The Davao City council in March 2007 adopted an ordinance banning aerial spraying but plantation owners last January won a court order stopping the ban. The local ordinance aimed to prohibit companies from spraying fungicides over bananas from airplanes in 1,800 hectares out of the total 5,000 hectares of banana plantations in the city.
Plantation owners led by the Lorenzo family’s Lapanday Agricultural and Development Corp. argued that stopping the spraying could expose the banana plants to pest attacks that could drive their business to bankruptcy and eventually result in loss of jobs. –Manila Standard Today
June 2025
Philippine Environment Month!
“Action for Nature, for the Future!”
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO Constitution
against the military junta in Myanmar
to carry out the 2021 ILO Commission of Inquiry recommendations
against serious violations of
Forced Labour and Freedom of Association protocols.
Accept National Unity Government (NUG)
of Myanmar. Reject Military!
#WearMask #WashHands #Distancing #TakePicturesVideosturesVideos
Monthly Observances:
1 Jun – World Day of Parents
5 Jun – World Environment Day
7 Jun – World Food Safety Day
8 Jun – World Oceans Day
12 Jun – World Day Against
Child Labour
15 Jun – World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
16 Jun – International Day of Family Remittances
17 Jun – World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
20 Jun – World Refugee Day
25 Jun – Day of the Seafarer
27 Jun – Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day
Daily Observances:
First Saturday of July:
International Cooperative Day
in the Philippines
