Fisherfolk, civil society groups hold indignation rally in Agri and Fisheries Bureau offices
Press Release Date: December 30, 2024
Artisanal fishers join hands with civil society groups in holding an indignation rally in front of the offices of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and Department of Agriculture today, criticizing the apparent inaction of the government agencies as commercial fishing sector pushes their way into the 15-kilometer municipal water from the shoreline where only small scale fishers are allowed by law to catch fish.
“Sa totoo lang, hindi namin maramdaman ang gobyernong nagtatanggol sa ating Konstitusyon at mga batas pangisdaan at pangkalikasan na pangunahing dapat na nagpapatupad nito. (In truth, we cannot feel the presence of the government defending the Constitution and our fisheries and environmental laws that are duty-bound to implement these as well.) We are here to express our dismay on the lack of efforts and worse, their disconcerted moves to stop the commercial fishing companies from pushing their way to serve their profit interests, amid the continuing decline of our fish stocks, the sources of life and livelihood for Filipinos, especially the coastal communities,” said Pablo Rosales, President of PANGISDA Pilipinas.
Aside from Oceana and PANGISDA Pilipinas, other civil society and fisherfolk groups belonging to the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice call on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to lead the other concerned agencies, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority and local government units to defend our laws and institutions in making sure that our efforts to restore back our fisheries abundance will not be wasted in vain.
The Supreme Court’s First Division issued a resolution recently upholding the Malabon Regional Trial Court’s decision on the petition of Mercidar Fishing Corporation to declare the preferential access of municipal fisherfolk to 15-kilometer municipal water unconstitutional, among others.
Fisherfolk are alarmed that this decision will render them even poorer than their current dire condition. They anticipate the fish stocks to be depleted further and that its recovery will be almost impossible.
The 15-kilometer municipal water is where the marine habitats are located that also serve as spawning grounds of fish and seafood. The Fisheries Code, as amended, reiterated the social justice provisions of the Philippine Constitution that provides for preferential access to the municipal water of small and artisanal fisherfolk, to stop destructive and aggressive fishing methods of commercial fishers, and for the juvenile fish and fish larvae to grow and reproduce. (END)