MANILA, Philippines — Civil society groups are aggressively raising alarms over intellectual property clauses that they warn could cripple the autonomy of small-scale Filipino farmers. A regional non-governmental organization (NGO) has urged the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to completely remove a restrictive plant preservation provision from ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with the European Union.
The advocacy group warns that implementing the Western legal mandate will compromise the livelihoods of poor farming communities while stripping away traditional agricultural practices.
At the center of the dispute is an active push within the EU-PH trade accord to force the Philippines to adopt the guidelines of the 1991 International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV 1991).
The Southeast Asia Regional Initiatives for Community Empowerment (Searice) argues that UPOV 1991 is a predatory legal framework structurally built to benefit massive corporate agricultural firms at the direct expense of independent smallholders:
- Restricted Freedom: Under UPOV 1991 frameworks, the ancestral practice of saving, modifying, exchanging, and selling seeds from harvested crops is heavily restricted or treated as a criminal act for a majority of plant species.
- Monopolizing Strains: The group notes that the clause allows multinational biotech corporations to establish strict commercial patents over modified plant varieties, forcing farmers into a cycle of purchasing corporate seeds season after season.
- Existing Local Laws: Searice emphasizes that the request is both unnecessary and harmful, given that the country already maintains a balanced domestic intellectual property framework under the Plant Variety Protection Act of 2002.
[EU Trade Text Mandates UPOV 1991] ──► [Restricts Seed Saving & Swapping] ──► [Criminalizes Smallholder Practices]
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▼
[Preserve 2002 Local Plant Act] ◄── [DTI Agrees to Civil Society Review] ◄── [Searice Demands Complete Omission]
Advocates warn that losing the right to exchange seeds locally poses a catastrophic threat to domestic food security, economic self-reliance, and local ecological balance.
“The inclusion of the UPOV in the EU-PH free trade pact would expand corporate control over seeds and restrict smallholder farmers’ rights to save, use, exchange, and sell seeds… Even saving seeds and replanting on their own fields is prohibited and thus criminalized for most plant species, and restricted for others. The Philippine government should retain full flexibility in developing seed laws in accordance with farmers’ rights, national circumstances, and needs.” — Searice Policy Lead
The civic pushback arrives at a critical juncture for the country’s economic planners. Trade Secretary Christina Roque previously confirmed that the administration is targeting a swift conclusion to the massive EU-PH FTA negotiations by June or July 2026.
[ DTI'S ACTIVE 2026 TRADE TIMELINE ]
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┌───────────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────┐
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[ EUROPEAN UNION ] [ CANADA & CHILE ] [ INDIA (PTA) ]
Targeting full conclusion by On track for complete execution Negotiating targeted tariff drops
mid-summer (June/July 2026). before the close of 2026. on affordable pharmaceuticals.
Despite pushing for an aggressive trade schedule to help the Philippines outpace its ASEAN neighbors, trade officials are taking civil concerns seriously. DTI representatives formally indicated that the agency remains open to dialogue with civil society organizations, allowing stakeholders to review the draft text to shield vulnerable agricultural supply chains before any binding international treaties are signed.
