It is unacceptable that they use their power to keep us voiceless. — David Oyelowo in Selma.

Agriculture has been historically derided as having a marginal contribution to a country’s economic output.

And just because the crop they are raising may not pass certain political correctness benchmarks, they do not deserve access pass, much less, direct and active participation in global deliberations on matters affecting their sector?

Is muting their voices in the national conversation and international discussion of issues affecting their livelihood, their means of survival,and the welfare of their families and dependents justified?

If so, the new paradigm of inclusion or participatory engagement of all sectors and stakeholders in agricultural production and overall global economic output is a farce, a sham, a joke.

Thus, farmers organizations appealed to the government to ensure they are given proper representation and their legitimate concerns are not ignored in the forthcoming conference on the global treaty on tobacco control beginning November 8 to be held under the auspices of the World Health Organization.

The Department of Foreign Affairs is the country’s lead agency in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Conference of Parties 9 slated to be held online from November 8 to 13.

The Philippine Tobacco Growers Association and the Federation of Free Farmers issued the call following reports that the Department of Health is lobbying to exclude industry representatives and shut out voices from tobacco farmers as what they have done in previous conferences.

“The COP 9 is an important event that has a great impact on the welfare and livelihood of farmers and our families. We are hoping that the government delegation will carry our interests and protect our rights during the conference,” former Agriculture secretary and FFF Board chairman Leonardo Montemayor said.

With the threat of exclusion, the groups cautioned against a backlash to the industry that has contributed significantly to the economy—with more than P148 billion in excise tax and P93.5 billion to the universal health care program last year.

Saturnino Distor, president of PTGA said: “We respect and recognize that the health concern associated with tobacco consumption must be addressed. However, we believe that it should be done in a manner that also takes into consideration the welfare and interests of tobacco- growing farmers.”

Apprehensions arose from reports that the DoH, thru the Food and Drug Administration, is marshalling the COP 9 delegation and sent out invitations to different government agencies to nominate their representatives, a job more appropriately done by the DFA as the lead agency.

The DFA is mandated by Executive Orders 292 and 459 as the “lead agency that shall advise and assist the President in planning, organizing, directing, coordinating and evaluating the national efforts in the field of foreign relations” and “negotiate treaties and other agreements pursuant to the instruction of the President”.

FCTC conducted a webinar last May for its secretariat’s focal persons identified mainly as advocates of prohibitive tobacco-control approaches, contrary to the principle of the FCTC which recognized pragmatic harm-reduction strategies to reduce smoking prevalence and associated harm.

Concerns were raised that the COP 9 would again be a venue to propose extreme regulation on cigarettes and emerging novel tobacco products like vapes and heated tobacco. These measures have proven to be ineffective in a lot of countries and have even backfired, generating unintended consequences.

Among the panelists of the FCTC webinar is FDA Director General Rolando Eric Domingo, who recently appeared as a resource speaker in a local online anti-vape bill event.

Consumer groups decried Domingo’s participation in the event, saying it blatantly showed bias against a legitimate industry while he was expected to be impartial as a head of a regulatory agency.

Domingo serves as the FCTC secretariat’s focal person in the country responsible for regularly crafting the report on the country’s status of the FCTC implementation.

The farmer groups said the Philippine COP 9 delegation should bring to the table the entire country’s position — not just that of the health sector.

They also questioned the involvement of The Union, a Bloomberg Philanthropies-funded foreign anti-tobacco organization, which Domingo is consulting with. The groups discovered COP -9-related emails that included the Union as one of the recipients.

Earlier this year, the House of Representatives conducted an investigation on the questionable grant received by the FDA from The Union to fund the drafting of regulations on non-combustible alternatives to cigarettes like vapes and heated tobacco products.

The FDA admitted during the investigation that the money was us.