April 1998 – European Union’s (EU) last approval of Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) products.
August 2001 – Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay files House Bill No. 1376, proposing a five-year moratorium on the entry, sale, processing and field release of GMO containing products.
October 2001 – Swiss Healthcare group Novartis confirms samples of baby food containing GMO soy are in the Philippines.
December 2002 – Philippine agriculture officials approve the country’s first genetically modified crop for commercial planting, a type of insect-resistant corn made by biotechnology giant Monsanto Corporation.
May 2003 – The United States announces its intention to file a complaint against the EU’s unofficial ban on GMOs at the World Trade Organization.
May 2004 – EU Commission ends the de facto ban by authorizing imports of GMO canned sweet corn (Bt-11 maize) for sale in European supermarkets.
August 2004 – Party-list representatives led by Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis file House Bill 2124 or the “GMO-free Food and Agriculture Act of 2004.”
February 2005 – The Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) drafts an administrative order to identify the contents of food products, including GMOs.
