BFAR vessels monitoring order ‘inextricably linked’ to project in graft case, says law firm

A law firm on Tuesday asked the Marcos administration to block the implementation of the suspended order requiring fishing operators to install monitoring systems on commercial fishing vessels, saying it is linked to a contract that is the subject of a graft complaint filed against former BFAR officials in 2022.

In a letter addressed to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., a copy of which was sent to the media, the Ma. Neiseria Ailah Tuquero and Partners Law Office said that Fisheries Administrative Order (FAO) No. 266, issued in 2020 by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), is linked to the Integrated Marine Environment Monitoring System (IMEMS) Project Phase II, or PHILO Project Phase II.

The project aims to improve and expand PHILO Phase I, particularly the Vessel Monitoring System of the DA-BFAR, and the integration of various databases including fishing vessel registry, ocean and weather data, stock assessment data, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing records.

The law firm represents the complainant in the graft case filed before the Office of the Ombudsman against the P2-billion PHILO Project Phase II, awarded to SRT Marine Systems Solutions Ltd.

“It may be important to inform the Honorable President that the implementation of the FAO 266 is inextricably linked to BFAR’s Integrated Marine Environment Monitoring System Project Phase II,” the law firm said.

FAO No. 266 required commercial fishers to report their catch through Vessel Monitoring Measures (VMM) and an Electronic Reporting System (ERS).

The order, however, was suspended by Malacañang through a memorandum dated March 13, 2023 signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin.

The memorandum directed the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the BFAR to “hold in abeyance the implementation of FAO No. 266 nationwide, pending the final resolution over its constitutionality by the Supreme Court."

The same order was also issued a permanent injunction in June 2021 by the Malabon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 170, "declaring it as null and void for being unconstitutional."

The matter has since been pending before the Supreme Court.

“We pray that the Honorable President consider the pendency of the criminal complaint and the consequences of implementing the PHILO Project Phase II through SRT based on the irregularities attendant to and the expiration of the contract,” the law firm said.

GMA News Online has reached out to DA-BFAR National Director Demosthenes R. Escoto and Chief Information Officer Nazario Briguera for comment.

In a separate statement, the BFAR said that while it adheres to the memorandum from the Office of the Executive Secretary dated March 13, 2023, “it supports the implementation of FAO 266 mandating the installation of vessel monitoring measure in commercial fishing vessels.”

“As a tool for monitoring, control, and surveillance, VMM (vessel monitoring measure) can effectively help in the prevention, deterrence, and elimination of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing,” the BFAR said.

The agency said that the VMM, as a tool for monitoring, control, and surveillance, “can effectively help in the prevention, deterrence, and elimination of IUU fishing.” — BM, GMA Integrated News