SOLICITOR General Menardo Guevarra yesterday asked the Supreme Court (SC) to reverse and set aside the June 1, 2021 decision of the Malabon City Regional Trial Court declaring the Fisheries Administrative Order No. 266 as unconstitutional.
Guevarra made the appeal during the oral arguments on the government’s petition asking the High Court to issue a temporary restraining order and/or writ of preliminary injunction against the implementation of the lower court’s ruling.
The OSG is representing the Department of Agriculture (DA), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and Oceana Philippines International.
The Fisheries Administrative Order No. 266 requires the use of a vessel monitoring system or VMS and an electronic reporting system or ERS that enables the government to monitor all duly registered commercial fishing vessels and ensure that they are operating within authorized fishing grounds.
The data gathered from the VMS guides government agencies in the adoption of conservation and management measures and in the prosecution of fisheries law violations, including commercial fishing in municipal waters.
“A declaration of unconstitutionality of FAO 266 frustrates the State’s effort to honor its international commitments and renders it powerless to uphold the shared goals these commitments represent,” Guevarra told the justices.
“For failure to honor such commitments, the country may lose access to foreign markets for its fish exports,” he added.
The solicitor general also warned that $320 million worth of fish products bound to Europe every year will be in danger of being rejected if the Philippine government fails to certify that such fish products were not caught through illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing (IUUF).
The value of Philippine fishing products exports amounted to around $1 billion in 2021.
“As we have emphasized in our submissions, irresponsible use of our marine resources endangers their very existence. Enjoining FAO 266 removes one of the most effective tools of the government against IUUF,” Guevarra said.
“Thus, unless and until administrative regulations are proven to have clearly and manifestly exceeded the bounds of the law, including the Constitution, (the) validity and legality (of FAO 266) must be upheld,” he stressed.
Guevarra also stressed that FAO 266 did not violate the respondents’ right to equal protection of the law under the Constitution.
