The scientific community is gravely concerned about the negative effects on food security and research development in agriculture of the Supreme Court decision banning field testing on genetically-modified (GM) crops and scrapping the biosafety standards set by the Department of Agriculture (DA).

In a statement, the National Academy of Science and Technology Philippines (NAST-PHL) said all the supporters of biotech crops —including the University of the Philippines at Los Baños (UPLB), Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB), the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (Searca), ISAAA and the corn industry—are concerned about the verdict since it conceivably covered not only GM crops but other products as well.