LGU, others ask SC to reverse ruling on commercial fishing

A local government unit and others on Friday asked the Supreme Court (SC) to reverse its ruling allowing commercial fishing within the 15-kilometer boundary of municipal waters.

In a motion to intervene, the petitioners asked the High Court to reverse its resolution and to remand the case for trial before the Regional Trial Court (RTC).

The petitioners also asked the court to implead all indispensable parties and to allow them to intervene in the case.

“Bonded by the same goal of restoring the rights and powers that the RTC Malabon erased without impleading indispensable parties, the Petitioners are now before this Honorable Court seeking for their voices to be heard, for their rights to be upheld, and for the protections unduly taken from then returned,” the petition read.

The petitioners are the municipality of Sablayan, represented by Mayor Walter Marquez; Sanlakas, represented by Marie Lopez; the Municipal Fisheries and Aquatic Council of Sablayan; Sentro ng Mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa, represented by Josua Mata; and Aya Portia Gatuslao.

The Supreme Court's First Division recently upheld a decision that declared certain provisions of the Fisheries Code and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) unconstitutional.

For its part, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has asked the SC to reconsider its ruling.

In a statement, BFAR confirmed it had filed a motion for reconsideration, emphasizing its commitment to exhausting all legal remedies on the issue.

“DA-BFAR recognizes the gravity of this case, which has far-reaching consequences for sustainable resource management, environmental protection, and the welfare of affected communities,” the agency stated.

Multiple parties have also filed petitions to intervene in the case.

The group accused the DA of failing to uphold the preferential rights of small-scale fisherfolk to traditional fishing grounds.

“Tahimik ang DA sa gitna ng malakas na ingay ng mga maliliit na mangingisda laban sa panghihimasok ng mga malalaking negosyo sa aming pangisdaan,” PAMALAKAYA Vice Chairperson Ronnel Arambulo said in a statement.

(The DA remains silent while small fisherfolk raise their voices against the encroachment of big businesses into our fishing areas.) — BAP, GMA Integrated News