PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s advisors from the private sector said on Thursday said that the administration, through its chief lawyer, will seek reconsideration of a recent appellate court ruling on genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

“The Solicitor General has been instructed to seek clarification and reconsideration of the decision, emphasizing its limited scope and potential widespread impact on agriculture and food security,” the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) said in a statement following a meeting with Mr. Marcos on Wednesday night.

The Court of Appeals, in a 143-page decision issued on April 17, revoked the biosafety permits for the commercial propagation of Golden Rice and Bt Eggplant, citing their potential risks to the environment and the health of consumers.

It also stopped the field testing and use, as well as imports of, GMOs until all measures have been to ensure they are safe.

“President Marcos reassured stakeholders of the government’s commitment to continue with the Golden Rice and BT Talong programs, despite legal ambiguities,” PSAC said.

At the same meeting, Mr. Marcos and his private advisors discussed ways to boost the coconut industry, pushing for the restructuring of a development plan for stakeholders.

The President proposed that the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan Fund be restructured to ensure “a more efficient allocation of resources” to support the Philippine Coconut Authority’s replanting strategy targeting 100 million coconut trees within the next five years, PSAC said.

They also pushed for a substantial increase in funding for the salt fertilization program, “with a shift towards local sourcing” through collaboration with cooperatives.”

“These initiatives are expected to enhance coconut yields and further develop the local salt industry, which provides crucial inputs for coconut cultivation,” PSCAC said.

At the meeting, Secretary Raphael P.M. Lotilla of the Department of Energy said they would elevate biodiesel blend from B2 to B5 over the course of three years starting October.

“This policy aims to improve fuel efficiency while ensuring that the coconut supply for the food sector remains unaffected.”

For the sugar industry, Mr. Marcos endorsed a PSAC recommendation to bridge sugar imports during off-milling seasons and to refine imported raw sugar domestically for export.

The public and private sectors also outlined stricter regulatory and tax enforcement strategies to address smuggling of tobacco and vape products, including “implementing new tax measures, enhancing monitoring, and enforcing stricter compliance protocols to curb illegal trade and ensure public safety.”

In a separate statement, Mr. Marcos’ office said PSAC pushed for an amendment of the Anti-Agri Smuggling Act of 2016 to include tobacco products and add provisions on penalties for distributing and selling smuggled products.

The council also called on the Department of Trade and Industry to set a deadline for the registration of importers and manufacturers of vapor products.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue, meanwhile, should start imposing tax requirements on tobacco and vapor products, PSAC proposed.

It recommended that state operations against smugglers of smuggled tobacco and vapor products and their retailers be reported to the Office of the President on a monthly basis. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

PHILIPPINE President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has not changed his stance on an international probe of his predecessor’s deadly war on drugs, his office said on Thursday, even as his Justice department studies possible scenarios related to the investigation.

Mr. Marcos’ position “remains clear and consistent,” Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil told Palace reporters.

On Wednesday, the Department of Justice (DoJ) said it is preparing a briefer on scenarios related to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) probe, including a potential arrest warrant for former president, Rodrigo R. Duterte, and a possible re-entry of the Philippines into the ICC.

It’s the Justice department’s “duty to explore all legal avenues and ensure that the President is fully informed of his opinion,” Ms. Velicaria-Garafil said. “It’s a standard procedure, not a change in position, ensuring that our administration remains prepared for any scenario.”

The ICC has been investigating Mr. Duterte’s deadly drug war, which is also being linked to his daughter Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio, who served as local chief from 2010 to 2013 and from 2016 to 2022.

The government estimates that at least 6,117 people were killed in Mr. Duterte’s drug war between July 1, 2016 and May 31, 2022, but human rights groups say the death toll could be as high as 30,000.

The ICC probe covers crimes committed in Davao City from November 2011 to June 2016 when he was still its mayor, as well as cases during his presidency up until March 16, 2019, the day before the Philippines withdrew from the ICC.

Mr. Marcos had said the Philippines under his leadership will not cooperate with the international court.

Mr. Marcos, who ran in tandem with Mr. Duterte’s daughter in the 2022 polls, said in March last year the Philippines was “disengaging” with the ICC after its rejection of the country’s appeal to suspend its drug war probe.

Among the key persons implicated in the case is former police chief Ronald “Bato” M. dela Rosa, who has been serving as Philippine senator since 2019.

A Social Weather Stations survey conducted on Dec. 8 to 11 last year showed 53% of Filipinos agreed with the ICC probe of the drug war, up from 45% in March 2023.

Former senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV on Tuesday said the ICC is expected to issue an arrest warrant against Mr. Duterte and his cohorts by June or July this year, adding that the arrest warrant may be implemented through a Red Notice issuance by the International Police.

Mr. Duterte and his allies on Tuesday held a political rally in the central Philippine city of Dumaguete, with calls for Mr. Marcos’ resignation.  — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

THE MILITARIES of the Philippines and the United States sank a decommissioned China-made tanker in waters off Laoag City in northern Luzon with an anti-ship cruise missile, as part of their maritime strike drills involving air, land, and naval assets on Wednesday.

In a statement released on Thursday, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said the activity, which was part of the two forces’ Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises, is “a testament to the military’s commitment to its vision of becoming a world-class armed forces, a source of national pride.”

For the activity, the AFP deployed the Philippine Navy’s BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) and two Philippine Air Force jets.

It also deployed anti-ship missiles and a fast attack interdiction craft armed with Spike missiles to target the decommissioned BRP Lake Caliraya, which was donated by the Philippine National Oil Corporation to the Navy in 2014.

The ship, which represented an enemy force targeting Philippine territory, was decommissioned in 2020 due to maintenance issues.

“This exercise was about the collective capability of our combined fires networks and increasing interoperability to sense and shoot targets from a variety of Philippine, US and Australian land, sea and air platforms,” Marine Col. Douglas Krugman, the US director of the Balikatan’s combined coordination center, said in a separate release.

US and the Philippine forces also sank a decommissioned ship last year but not with an anti-ship missile.

Laoag City is about 400 kilometers south of Taiwan, a US ally that China claims as a renegade province.

The Balikatan drills started on April 22 and will end on May 10. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza