Community Pesticide Action
Monitoring in Mindanao
Romeo F. Quijano, M.D.
 Professor(Ret.), Dept. of Pharmacology and Toxicology,
College of Medicine, Univ. of the Phils. Manila
 President, Pesticide Action Network Philippines
 Chairman, Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific Board Member, Institute for Occupational Safety,
Health and Development
 Member, Phil Soc Clinical Occupational Toxicology
 President Emeritus, Health Action For Human Rights

PESTICIDE POISONINGSIn the South, anestimated 25
millionagriculturalworkers may
suffer one
incident ofpesticide
poisoning eachyear.

Title of Report: Community Pesticide Action
Monitoring in Mindanao, Philippines
Participating Organizations:
Pesticide Action Network Philippines
Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific (PANAP)
Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP)
Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU)- CARAGA
Citizens Alliance Unified for Sectoral Empowerment Davao del Sur(CAUSE-DS)
Sitio Buloy Indigenous People’s Organization, Davao del Sur
BAYAN(Bagong Alyansang Makabayan)-SOCSKSARGEN
Community Primary Health Care (CPHC)--SOCSKSARGEN
KALUMBAY (Indigenous People’s Organization,Northern Mindanao)

SENTRA (Sentro para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo)
European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights
Center for International Law (Centerlaw)

Community-based Pesticide Action
Monitoring (CPAM)• Community-based monitoring refers to asystematic and participatory process ofgenerating and analyzing information at thecommunity level for action.
• Regular monitoring facilitates continuous andtimely flow of awareness-raising informationthat may encourage community members toactively pursue steps leading to a change in theirlife situation.

Objectives of CPAM
Empower communities to tackle the hazards ofpesticides
Ensure safe food and foods free from pesticides
Build a national and global consensus to eliminate thehealth and environmental hazards of pesticides

Counter the influence of agrochemical and seedcorporations in order to benefit small-scale farmers indeveloping countries
Support and promote the development of ecological,
locally appropriate agriculture, which brings foodsecurity and other benefits

STUDY SITES AND METHODOLOGY- Areas in Mindanao with banana and oil palm
plantations were chosen as study sites.
- Individual interviews and focused group discussions(FGDs) were done by Barangay Health Workers orcommunity organizers from participating organizations.
- Data gathering done in two cycles, from May toSeptember 2015, and from June to July 2016, incommunities in Davao del Sur and South Cotabato wherebanana plantations were located and in Agusan del Sur
and Bukidnon where there were oil palm plantations.
Additional data were gathered during the International Fact
Finding Mission on the use of Paraquat in Oil Palm
Plantations in Mindanao done from June 8-June12, 2016.

Distance from the plantation
Many of the participants live within the10 meter distance from the plantation edges,and there were those who live within theplantation itself.

Demographic profile of respondents

Children in Households

Occupation of respondents
Twenty respondents were connected withthe plantation either as a general worker(19) or as aerial crew (1) at the time of theinterview. Another twenty of therespondents used to do odd jobs in theplantation as a harvester, sprayer, feed
processor or guard. Three of them haveworked in the plantation for 25 to 26 years.

Use of Pesticide at Work

Duration of exposure
Exposure to pesticides had a mean
duration of nine years and the frequencyof pesticide use and exposure was mostly
4-8 hrs/day. Eighteen of the respondents
were backpack sprayers. There were 11
cases of accidental exposure.

Exposure to pesticides
All respondents from Davao del Sur said that they wereregularly exposed to aerial spray because of the banana
plantation.
People passing through the immediate
vicinity of the plantation are hit by the pesticides being
aerially sprayed. Sometimes, people are directly hit by
the aerial spraying while they are eating.
Only one respondent was conscious of not entering a
newly-sprayed field. Respondents do not eat or drink
while spraying (knapsack sprayer).

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)Use of PPE
Of the 35 respondents that answered the query on
the use of PPE, 31 wore PPE. They normally
had personal caps, long sleeves, long pants,
boots and face cloth towel at work. The towel
served as “respirator” and face shield/mask.
Coveralls/apron, gauntlet gloves and respirator
were provided to some. Only six had goggles.

Use of PPE
Focused group discussion (FGD) participants said that themasks and gloves lasted one month, while the aprons
lasted for five months. The apron was of the samematerial as a raincoat.

Respondent workers in the oil palm plantation in Agusandel Sur said that PPE was provided only when the union
asked for it. PPE was given once a year. Torn PPE was
not replaced as the company emphasized that it is theworkers’ responsibility to ensure that the PPE does notbreak. Thus, several of them resorted to the use bra
cups as substitute to masks.

Washing PPE

Impact of pesticides on water
1. Water Pollution
2. Decreasing volume ofclean water for householduse
3. Killing of organisms inwater bodies
4. People lose access topotable water and thebenefits ofuncontaminated waterWashing PPE and pesticide containers
Most respondents wash their equipment attheir workplace or at home at a faucet orusing the stored water in drums.
Sometimes, washing is done in a brook,
creek, or field. Some leave the equipment
unwashed.
The respondents or their spouses usually do
the washing.

Washing facilities
An FGD participant from the oil palm plantation in Bukidnon said
that the washing area of the company was restricted and offlimits to him and his co-workers. Thus, they used the creek towash themselves and the equipment. They did not regularly
wash at home since water was limited. His co-worker neverwashed after mixing pesticides because “…when you put thewater in, it (the pesticide) will also go through your hands.”
Another respondent added that they did not bathe to avoid
pasma.
There were times that workers could not wash when the stored
water runs out. On these occasions, they washed in rivers,
brooks or creeks, or at home.

Pesticide Spillage

Pesticide spillage
Most of the respondents experienced spillage whilebackspraying, circle spraying, loading and mixing.
Sometimes, parts of the knapsack break and theworkers usually try to fix it on their own since it was often
not possible to have it fixed by the company. Leaks weresealed with plastic and clogged nozzles were loosened.
A respondent reported that he wraps the clogged nozzle
with tissue and loosens it with his mouth. Another usedsardine cans to measure pesticides which get into
contact with his hands.
Another said that during
spraying, pesticide would flow from her knees towards
her feet and this caused blackening of her nails and toes.

Training on pesticide use
Of the 34 plantation workers who responded to the query, only 17 hadtraining on pesticide use and handling.
One respondent said that she was only taught the manner of pesticide
application, and how to measure. Only the regular employees
receive training on health and safety, she added. A co-worker
explained to her the hazards of pesticides.
Another respondent learned about the dangers of the pesticide he wasusing because of the symptoms he experienced after handling it. He
also shared that a fellow sprayer was paralyzed and he attributed
the disease to the pesticide.
Another respondent said he was told to use PPE in work but the gloves
was easily torn and no replacement was provided. Financiallyincapable to buy gloves, he had been handling pesticides with barehands.

List of Pesticides Used
Insecticides
Decis (Deltamethrin)
Malathion
Karate (Lambda-cyhalothrin)
Cymbush (Cypermethrin)
Lorsban (Chlorpyrifos)
Herbicides

Gramoxone (Paraquat)
Clear-Out (Glyphosate)
Round-Up (Glyphosate)

Insecticide-Nematicide
Furadan (Carbofuran)Mocap (Ethoprop)

Fungicides
Daconil (Chlorothalonil)
Antracol (Propineb)
Banguard ( Thiram)
Benlate (benomyl)
Others

Shadow (dimethenamid, etc.)

Jackpot (Bacillusthuringiensis)

2,4-DGreen Mustard

Garlon (Triclopyr)Illnessess of Respondents:Examples
Headache, blurring of vision, nausea, coughing, eye pain and skinitchiness were the most common ailment among the respondents.
According to a respondent who started working at the oil palm
plantation in 1980, she noticed injuries due to pesticide in 2004.
She started coughing and her eyes became blurred. She had thenseveral instances of losing consciousness. Her skin became very
dry and her fingers would feel numb. She went to a medical clinic
but was not given prescription. She started getting headaches in2008.
Another respondent had the same complaints, and in addition to these,
had found it painful to urinate. She had frequent itching in her
inguinal area. She thought that these were due to pesticides since
she used to urinate on newly sprayed ground. Another respondent
also reported of having breast cysts and myoma. She did not see a
doctor after quitting her job in 2014 for she could not even afford thetransportation fare to the clinic.

Signs and Symptoms of Respondents

Tboli resident with eye disorder, exposed to aerial spraying by banana plantation

Child with acute respiratory disease, Sumifru plantation, Tboli South Cotabato

Child exposed to paraquat and other pesticides
in an oil palm plantationEffects of Pesticides Used by theBanana Plantation on Children
1. Stinging of the eyes
and itchy skin
2. Gastrointestinal andrespiratory ailments
3. Deformities amongnew born babies
4. Impaired mental andpsychomotordevelopment
5. Anemia and otherblood diseases

Signs and Symptoms of Respondents

Scarring due to paraquat spill

Blindness due to paraquat exposureChronic Dermatitis Due to Repeated
Immersion in Plantation Canals

Effect of paraquat on skin and nails

Nail erosion due to paraquat exposure

Skin discoloration due to paraquat
spillageSigns and Symptoms of RespondentsIllnesses Reported in Households

RESULTS
Presence of people, especially children, inside and within
the 10 meter periphery of the banana and oil palmplantations.
Respondents from a banana plantation community in
Davao del Sur were all exposed to aerial spraying ofpesticides and there were cases when they weresprayed while eating or while on their way to the river todo laundry. One respondent said a three-year old childwas exposed to the pesticide drift while playing, making
her lose consciousness and ended up mentallyhandicapped.

Results
The absence or inadequacy of training given to
most of the pesticide handlers. Very few wereconscious not to spray against wind direction.
This is made worse by the fact that there were
respondents handling paraquat, a highly
hazardous pesticide that has been banned inmany countries. Not knowing the dangers,
handlers were not mindful of restricting contact
with the pesticides, with one even declogging
the pesticide applicator nozzle with his mouth.

Results
Abusive and inhumane treatment of plantation workers in
the plantation. Making the washing facilities off-limits toplantation workers, not providing accessible comfort
rooms, and limiting the provision for masks, gloves,
coveralls/aprons and boots to the workers haveincreased the risk of pesticide-induced illnesses.
Because of lack of safety procedures for washingpesticide equipment and their bodies, pesticide residues
get into the workers’ skin and private parts resulting todermal and other diseases. The workers had to resort tothe use of bra cups as masks or “respirator” since theiremployers do not provide them replacements once theirmasks are worn out.

Results
The illnesses reported by the respondents areclearly indicative of pesticide poisoning as themajor causative factor.
The five most reported pesticides were paraquat,deltamethrin, glyphosate, chlorathalonil andmalathion. The most highly hazardous of theseis paraquat. The WHO misleadingly classifies itas Class II, moderately toxic, but it should bereclassified as Class I because of its very highacute toxicity, delayed effects and lack ofantidote.

Conclusions
The plantation workers and the communities within andnear the plantations are adversely affected by theplantations’ use of highly hazardous pesticides.
The corporations that run the banana and oil palm
plantations do not comply with national and international
regulations pertaining to the use of agrochemicals anddo notabide by their corporate responsibility ofensuring the safety of their workers and the nearby
communities.

The corporations violate the basic human rights (right tohealth, right to safe working conditions, etc.) of theworkers and community residents, esp. children &women).

RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Concerned government institutions andagencies (e.g. House of Representatives,Department of Health, Dept. of Agriculture,Dept. of Agrarian Reform, etc.) should
conduct a thorough investigation of thereported health and environmental impactsof pesticides used in banana and oil palm
plantations, particularly the use of paraquatand other highly hazardous pesticides.

Recommendations
2.The banana and oil palm plantations
should be made accountable forviolations of national and international
regulations on Occupational and Health
Safety , including cancellation of theirbusiness permits, if warranted.

Recommendations
3. The corporations should be madeaccountable for both human andenvironmental damage and be made toindemnify workers and residents ofcommunities who have been adverselyaffected by their harmful practices.

Recommendations
4. Concerned government agencies shouldensure, through appropriate implementationof relevant laws and regulations, and throughadditional legislation and policies, thatworkers and communities, especiallychildren, are adequately protected frompotentially harmful practices of banana andoil palm plantations, especially the use ofhighly hazardous pesticides.

Recommendations
5. Highly hazardous pesticides, particularly,paraquat and glyphosate, should beimmediately banned for use in thePhilippines.

WHY?
Lack of community participation
Arrogance of power
Gross ignorance
Unethical, unprofessional behaviour
Triumph of money
Mis-use of science and technology
Expediency over moral dutyWHY?
Neoliberal Globalization- Neoliberal theory proposes that human well-being canbest be advanced by an institutional framework
characterized by strong private property rights, freemarkets, and free trade.

- Key elements of neoliberalism include:

Liberalisation, Deregulation and Privatization

What needs to be done?

Mitigating Measures

ACoconut shell charcoal
Activated charcoal

Moringa oleifera

What needs to be done?
A wareness raisingN etworking among groups
T echnical capacity building I nformation exchange/monitoringD eepening of understandingO rganizing concerned peopleT ransformative action
E mpowerment of people

PEOPLE POWER !