Catholic Bishops Call for Protection of Artisanal Fishers in Pastoral Statement on Sunday
Press Release Date: February 1, 2025
Fifty (50) bishops of the Catholic Business Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), with Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David of the Diocese of Kalookan among them, strongly opposed the recent controversial Supreme Court 1st Division resolution allowing commercial fishing within the 15-kilometer municipal water.
The bishops expressed their deep concern about the ruling’s devastating impacts on artisanal and municipal fisherfolk who have preferential access to this fishing zone, in accord with the 1987 Constitution, the Local Government Code, and the Fisheries Code, as amended.
“We call on all sectors—government, civil society, and faith-based organizations—to align with the wisdom of our laws and the values of our faith, ensuring that policies uphold sustainability, empower local governance, and protect the rights of our fisherfolk,” according to CBCP President Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David and the other bishops in the statement.
The statement will be read after masses on Sunday (February 2, 2025) in all churches under the signatory bishops’ jurisdiction to reach a wider audience and encourage greater public engagement in protecting municipal fishers and marine resources.
During a press conference on Saturday, Bishop Gerry Alminaza, Vice Chair of Caritas Philippines emphasized the urgent need to protect the livelihoods of small-scale fishers and urged policymakers and the public to take action in defense of municipal waters.
“The ruling runs counter to the guiding principles of our nation. If the courts’ decisions become final and executory, our municipal fishers, who depend on these waters for survival, will face unfair and unjust competition from commercial fishers,” the bishops stated.
Quoting fisherfolk leader Norlan Pagal of San Remigio, Cebu, the bishops shared Pagal’s distress over the ruling, “Paano na kami? Wala kaming kakayahan magpunta sa malawak na laot dahil sagwan at maliliit na pumpboat lang gamit namin. Sana makita ng Korte at ng pamahalaan na pinapahirapan ninyo kami, at unti-unti ninyo kaming pinapatay, pati na rin mga pamilya namin.”
The Catholic bishops also reaffirmed their commitment to advocating for social justice, mainstreaming sustainability, empowering local governance, and promoting environmental stewardship in accordance with Pope Francis’ call to “care for our common home.”
Environmental advocates and fisherfolk leaders who attended the press conference welcomed the statement of the CBCP, affirming the ecological risks posed by large-scale commercial fishing operations in the 15-kilometer zone reserved for artisanal fisherfolk, which could aggravate overfishing, habitat destruction, and depletion of marine resources crucial to the survival of small-scale fishers and Filipinos.
“With 90% of municipal waters of most of our coastal towns at risk of exploitation by commercial fishers equipped with active and often destructive fishing gears, the consequences are dire: depleted fish stocks, loss of critical spawning grounds, and worsening poverty and hunger among already-marginalized communities. The ruling will exacerbate existing inequalities and further poverty and displacement among fishing communities,” said Gloria Estenzo Ramos, Oceana Vice President.
As her parting statement, Ramos quoted Doctor Willie Campos, among the country’s foremost fisheries scientists, who declared that “Fishing is a privilege of every Filipino but it comes with responsibilities. As the ultimate caretaker of the country’s natural heritage and resources, the state needs to ensure equity amongst the different user groups and stakeholders, but more importantly it needs to ensure that there will be adequate resources left to support livelihoods, especially when the imminence of resource collapse is already known to the state. The single and only solution to this is to reduce the proportion of the resource stocks caught by fisheries (both municipal and commercial) to allow them to recover their natural productive potential. This ensures that enough fish will be left in wild stocks to produce sufficient recruits year after year.”
The pastoral statement and video can be found here.
Contact persons:
Leon Pangilinan Jr., Communications Officer
Caritas Philippines
Joyce Sierra, Oceana Communications Manager
Mobile: 0917 821 4430
Email: jsierra@oceana.org