No country for fishermen

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The Supreme Court (SC), with its rigid adherence to the Rules of Court and legal technicalities, has just made the difficult struggle of the country’s subsistence fisherfolk even harder.

On Dec. 20, 2024, the Supreme Court’s First Division upheld the Malabon Regional Trial Court’s 2023 decision declaring Sections 4 (58), 16, and 18 of the Philippine Fisheries Code or Republic Act No. 8550, as amended by RA 10654, unconstitutional.

The High Tribunal ruled on the RTC’s decision that effectively allows Mercidar Fishing Corp. to operate within the 15-kilometer municipal waters, traditionally reserved for small-scale fishers.  While the bone of contention was just the fishing grounds of Manila Bay near Malabon, the ruling of the Supreme Court encompasses all municipal waters from Batanes to Tawi-Tawi.

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The decision invalidated provisions restricting commercial fishing within the 15-kilometer municipal waters, allowing commercial fishing vessels to operate in waters seven fathoms or deeper, regardless of distance from shore. The ruling also shifted primary regulatory authority of the natural resource from local government units to national government agencies.

What is sad in this particular case is that the rights of poor fishermen to make a living are trampled by the right of big fishing corporations to make a profit, with the SC siding with corporate fishers because the Office of the Solicitor General and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources failed to submit proper documents on time.

The Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc. (PMPI), a social development and advocacy network of more than 230 groups, also criticized the SC decision and vowed to make an appeal.

“This decision would allow large-scale commercial fishers to operate within municipal waters, further threatening the livelihoods of small-scale fishers who depend on these waters for their daily sustenance,” the PMPI said in a statement.

“We are alarmed and greatly disappointed that this ruling on Section 16 undermines the devolved powers of local government units under the Local Government Code of 1991. By asserting that only the national government has the authority to regulate the use of natural resources, including municipal waters, the court has stripped LGUs of a critical function designed to empower local governance and community-based resource management,” the statement read.

The network said the invalidation of Sections 4 and 18 was distressing. It said the previous prohibition on commercial fishing in municipal waters less than 7 fathoms (12.8 meters) deep was a vital safeguard for the 15-kilometer municipal waters designated for small-scale fisherfolk and their cooperatives or organizations.

The group pointed out that the SC ruling opens vast areas to commercial fishing, intensifying the challenges faced by approximately 2.3 million small-scale fishers who already endure food insecurity, habitat degradation, climate change, overfishing and limited access to government services. These marginalized communities now face an even graver threat to their livelihoods and welfare.

We are confident that with the government’s help, marginal fishermen can still find justice in this case.

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