DAVAO CITY – Malacañang is poised to promulgate a policy banning aerial spray after government health experts recommended to stop this agricultural practice.

In a dialogue with the National Task Force Against Aerial Spraying (NTFAAS) on Monday, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said he is in unison with the position of the Department of Health (DoH) to put an end to the aerial spraying of banana plantations in Mindanao.

“Executive Secretary Ermita’s assurance last Monday is a long-overdue response of the government to the farmers’ fight for justice. The action promised by Secretary Ermita would put an end to the miseries of our brothers and sisters from Mindanao, and upholds their right to life and a healthy environment,” said Rene Pineda, head of the NTFAAS.

The dialogue with the staunch protesters of the alleged “hazardous” aerial spray practice was an initiative of the Archbishop of Manila asking President Arroyo to heed the call of farmers from Mindanao to issue an Executive Order (EO) banning the said practice.

Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez and Manila Auxilliary Bishop Bernardino Cortez led the farmers’ panel in the dialogue, which included former Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Christian Monsod, the Archdiocese of Manila Ecology Desk, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ National Secretariat for Social Action and NTFAAS members.