Oceana statement on 2025 SONA
Press Release Date: July 29, 2025
Communities, coastal and not, braced for strong winds and incessant rains recently. These caused flooding, damage to lives and property, tens of deaths that could have been avoided, and the list goes on.
Sadly, nothing in President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) tackled the strategic solution of protecting our natural life support system. He overlooked vital issues concerning the environment, particularly our marine and fisheries resources that are vital sources of people’s food and livelihood security.
International marine protection organization, Oceana said the President’s one-hour-long SONA failed to acknowledge the pressing threats to marine ecosystems, the declining fish catch, and other problems that resulted in fisherfolk and their families in coastal communities among the poorest and most vulnerable to destructive impact of climate change.
These issues extend beyond environmental concerns; they are essential for economic survival, access to nutritious food, and fulfilling Filipinos’ constitutional right to a balanced and healthy ecology.
Oceana’s Acting Vice President Rose-Liza Eisma-Osorio urges President Marcos and his Cabinet to include in its priority actions the passage of the National Coastal Greenbelt bill that will protect mangrove forest in coastal areas. She calls for decisive executive action to protect the 15-kilometer municipal waters from commercial fishing and uphold the Constitutional provision safeguarding the rights of subsistence fisherfolk to their preferential use of communal marine and fishing resources inside municipal waters. (END)
Oceana is the largest international advocacy organization dedicated solely to ocean conservation. Oceana is rebuilding abundant and biodiverse oceans by winning science-based policies in countries that control one-quarter of the world’s wild fish catch. With more than 325 victories that stop overfishing, habitat destruction, oil and plastic pollution, and the killing of threatened species like turtles, whales, and sharks, Oceana’s campaigns are delivering results. A restored ocean means that 1 billion people can enjoy a healthy seafood meal every day, forever. Together, we can save the oceans and help feed the world. Visit Oceana.org to learn more.
For More Information:
Joyce Sierra, Communications Manager, Oceana
Mobile: 09178214430 E-mail: jsierra@oceana.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/oceana.philippines
Twitter: @oceana_ph Instagram: @oceana_ph