Facts:

The Department of Agriculture (DA) issued DA-Administrative Order (AO)

No. 08 providing rules and regulations for the importation and release into
the environment of plants and plant products derived from the use of
modem biotechnology. (UPMFI), pursued on a collaborative research and
development project on eggplants that are resistant to the fruit and shoot
borer. As indicated in the Field Trial Proposal submitted by the
implementing institution (UPLB), the pest-resistant crop subject of the
field trial was described as a "bioengineered eggplant." The crystal toxin
genes from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) were
incorporated into the eggplant (talong) genome to produce the protein
CrylAc which is toxic to the target insect pests. CrylAc protein is said to be
highly specific to lepidopteran larvae such as the fruit and shoot borer
(FSB), the most destructive insect pest of eggplant. Under the regulatory
supervision of NCBP, a contained experiment was started in 2007 and
officially completed on March 3, 2009. The NCBP thus issued a Certificate
of Completion of Contained Experiment stating that "During the conduct
of the experiment, all the biosafety measures have been complied with
and no untoward incident has occurred. BPI issued Biosafety Permits to
UPLB on March 16, 2010 and June 28, 2010. Thereafter, field testing of Bt
talong commenced on various dates in the following approved trial sites:
Kabacan, North Cotabato; Sta. Maria, Pangasinan; Pili, Camarines Sur;
Bago Oshiro, Davao City; and Bay, Laguna.

Issue:

Whether the case is moot and academic due to the claim of the
petitioners that the field trials have alreadybeen suspended

Ruling:

The court declared DAO No.8 null and void on the grounds that the court
found Administrative Order (DAO) 08-2002 deficient because it lacks
provisions for meaningful, participatory, and transparent public
consultation prior to field trials and contains no mechanisms requiring
applicants seeking to import or release GMOs to comply with international
biosafety standards. The Court also found that officials should have
complied with environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedures prior to
approving release of Bt talong. Invoking the precautionary principle, the
Supreme Court blocked further field trials of Bt talong until regulatory
systems governing the import and release of GMOs are strengthened.
When these features - uncertainty, the possibility of irreversible harm,
and the possibility of serious harm - coincide, the case for the
precautionary principle is strongest. When in doubt, cases must be
resolved in favor of the constitutional right to a balanced and healthful
ecology.