TACLOBAN CITY-Filipino advocacy groups and the Catholic Church are urging the Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling allowing large commercial fishing vessels to operate within the 15-kilometer municipal fishing zones, which have traditionally been reserved for small-scale fishermen.
Lawyer Aaron Pedrosa, secretary-general of the multisectoral group Sanlakas, said they are awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision after filing a petition for intervention, along with other groups, challenging the ruling.
“Some two million artisanal fisherfolk will be affected. This will also impact all coastal local government units across the country,” Pedrosa warned.
He stressed that the ruling could deepen poverty among municipal fishers, stating: “Poverty in the country wears a fisherfolk’s face, and the Supreme Court ruling, if upheld, would only further condemn our municipal fisherfolk to misery and want.”
Pedrosa pointed out that the decision undermines constitutional protections for municipal fisherfolk and weakens local government authority over municipal waters in favor of commercial interests.
The national assembly of municipal fisherfolk held in early February 2025 gathered 300 fishers in person and at least 100 more online.
Participants demanded accountability from the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) for failing to uphold the rights of small-scale fishers and called for strict enforcement of the Philippine Fisheries Code.
While the December 2024 ruling from the Supreme Court’s First Division upheld a Malabon Regional Trial Court decision allowing commercial fishing in municipal waters, it is not yet final. In January 2025, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), representing BFAR, also filed a motion for reconsideration.
“The Supreme Court has yet to rule on the motion for reconsideration and the petitions for intervention filed,” Pedrosa said.
Caritas Philippines, the humanitarian arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), expressed deep concern over the ruling, saying it contradicts the 1987 Constitution, the Local Government Code, and the amended Fisheries Code of 1998 (RA 10654)—all of which grant preferential fishing rights to municipal and artisanal fishers.
“The integrity of creation is threatened, and our survival—especially that of small fishers—is at stake,” said Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, vice chairman of Caritas Philippines.
CBCP president Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David called on government, civil society, and faith-based organizations to protect municipal fishers by ensuring that policies uphold sustainability, empower local governance, and prioritize fisherfolk rights.
The pastoral statement issued by the CBCP on February 2, 2025, is being read in dioceses and parishes nationwide.
The 15-kilometer municipal fishing zone accounts for around 2 million square kilometers, or 15 percent of Philippine waters.
“It is the mandate of the Philippine Constitution and the government to protect the livelihoods of small-scale and artisanal fisherfolk, ensure food security, and preserve marine biodiversity,” the CBCP statement emphasized.
Fisherfolk, such as Noralan Pagal from San Remigio, Cebu, lamented the devastating impact of the ruling:
“We cannot go to big lakes because we only use paddles and small pump boats. The court and the government are torturing us with this ruling—they are slowly killing us and our families.”
The bishops’ statement underscored the injustice faced by 2.3 million municipal fishers, warning that allowing commercial fishing in municipal waters would lead to hunger, poverty, and displacement.
(RONALD O. REYES)
