Quezon City, Philippines — The Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), Oceana Philippines, Pangisda Pilipinas, Pangingisda Natin Gawing Tama (PANAGAT), and other groups, protested in front of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) today, December 30, condemning the latter for its inaction and failure to adequately represent small fisherfolk in a controversial case that sought the removal of the 15-kilometer delineation, which bar commercial fishing vessels from entering municipal waters.
Last Friday, December 27, PMCJ joined a press conference, organized by Oceana Philippines, decrying the Supreme Court (SC)’s affirmation of Malabon Regional Trial Court (RTC)’s decision which allows Mercidar Fishing Corporation, a Malabon-based fishing company, to fish within 15-kilometer municipal waters, except in shallow areas that are less than 7 fathoms deep. The same resolution upheld the Malabon RTC in declaring provisions of the Philippine Fisheries Code otherwise known as Republic Act 8550, as amended, as unconstitutional. The resolution was issued by the Supreme Court First Division which is presided by Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo.
The ten-page SC resolution stated that the RTC’s decision became final since concerned government agencies, such as BFAR, failed to file their appeal on time. “The resolution essentially declares our municipal waters ‘free for all’, by a mere technicality, pushing our small-scale fisherfolk to battle big corporations in catching fish,” Atty. Aaron Pedrosa, Sanlakas Secretary-General said.
Pedrosa, who heads PMCJ’s Legal Team, stressed that allowing commercial vessels into the municipal waters would not only legitimize a grossly lopsided and unfair competition but would result in a grave injustice; as the SC resolution in effect annulled relevant protections afforded to fisherfolk under the Philippines’ Fisheries Code.
“By declaring the 15-km municipal waters provisions unconstitutional, and removing the bar for commercial vessels to come in, relevant social justice measures enshrined in the Constitution will be severely diminished and eroded. Laws protecting the rights of the marginalized, especially the fisherfolk, considered the country’s poorest, should be treated with supreme and utmost regard and not be simply overturned by default,” Pedrosa lamented.
PMCJ, together with various organizations, expressed their condemnation of BFAR, and other concerned agencies for letting this alarming situation happen, endangering the lives and livelihood of artisanal fisherfolk, who are the backbone of the country’s fight against food insecurity.
“Small-scale fisherfolk are the ones that put food on our tables, as big corporations, like Mercidar, operate to fish for export,” said Laica Rayel, PMCJ’s Food, Land, Water, and Climate Change (FLWC) campaign officer. Rayel emphasized that the PMCJ has 43 fisherfolk and coastal community organizations spread all over the country with an estimated membership of 140,000 families which will be greatly affected by the SC resolution.
“These families are just a fraction of the 60 percent of the population living in coastal communities, where survival and livelihood depend on marine and aquatic resources. Allowing commercial fishers will exacerbate the destruction of many protected seascapes and marine biodiversity in the country.” Rayel added.
PMCJ sees this decision as a serious setback for hundreds of thousands of fisherfolk and violates the constitutional guarantee of social and environmental justice. “This is clearly a rights issue, an issue of social and climate justice. It manifests the indifference of community-based solutions for climate justice, as the participatory process of the sectors who will be greatly affected by the resolution were absent,” Rayel stressed.
Groups call on the Government to actively pursue the case before the Supreme Court, instead of shifting the burden on fisherfolk and ordinary citizens. The SC Resolution may still be reconsidered upon proper motion by the Government. Pangisda Pilipinas also expressed their plea to BFAR to take action in a statement. If BFAR is truly serving the national interest and is dedicated to ensuring a fair and just resolution is reached, we demand the agency to take accountability for their concerning lapses and fast-track concrete actions to seek further review from the Supreme Court.
PMCJ, together with other organizations, showed force that they will not take this sitting down. This should be pursued to attain justice however rigorous, and protect fisherfolks and other constituents’ rights and livelihood. ###
#ProtectOurSeas #DefendPHFisherfolk #ClimateJusticeNow
