• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The vehement opposition to allow commercial fishing vessels to operate within the 15-kilometer municipal waters continues to snowball as the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Negros Occidental also expressed its grave concern on the ruling of Supreme Court (SC) allowing such.
In a resolution unanimously approved yesterday, the Provincial Board called for an urgent action to safeguard the rights of the municipal fishers and protection of fisheries and marine resources.
The resolution said that the SC ruling undermines the constitutional mandate for local governments to exercise jurisdiction over their resources and ensure the welfare of their constituents.
“The unregulated commercial fishing in municipal waters will deplete fish stocks, degrade marine ecosystems, and undermine local conservation efforts that have been successfully implemented by local government units (LGUs) and fisherfolk organizations,” it added.
The SC decision threatens the livelihood of more than 45,000 marginalized fishing communities belonging to 472 associations in 25 coastal towns of Negros Occidental, including the P2-billion blue crabs industry of the province, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson earlier said.
The High Court’s First Division, in a resolution dated Aug. 19, 2024, upheld a Malabon Regional Trial Court decision declaring the Fisheries Code’s preferential access provisions unconstitutional.
The Malabon RTC had rendered the ruling in the suit filed by private Navotas-based commercial fishing firm, Mercidar Fishing Corp., which filed a petition for declaratory relief on Oct. 25, 2023.
Among the portions of the Fisheries Code invalidated by the Malabon court was Sec. 16 on the jurisdiction of the municipal government to regulate commercial fishing in municipal waters of up to 15 kilometers from the shoreline.
The Department of Agriculture, through the Office of the Solicitor General, has asked the SC to overturn the decision allowing commercial fishing vessels to operate in municipal waters meant for fisherfolk.
While it is up to the national government to represent the fisherfolk against the decision, Lacson said he also wants to “make sure that our position will also be heard by the Supreme Court”.
“What we can do is to let the agencies know that we are concerned about the recent Supreme Court ruling,” Lacson said, citing the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, the Departments of Agriculture and Justice. | GB
