MANILA, Philippines — Senator Loren Legarda has introduced the Municipal Fisherfolk Protection Act, a bill aiming to declare the 15-kilometer municipal waters exclusively reserved for municipal fisherfolk. This legislation seeks to protect their constitutional preferential rights and sustain coastal ecosystems.
The bill responds to the recent Mercidar ruling by Malabon Regional Trial Court Branch 170. The ruling allowed licensed commercial fishing vessels to operate in municipal waters beyond seven fathoms and invalidated important provisions of the Philippine Fisheries Code that assigned enforcement powers to local government units (LGUs).
Due to procedural errors by government agencies, the Mercidar decision became final not through Supreme Court review but because the case was dismissed on procedural grounds. The bill does not aim to overturn this ruling but reasserts the legislative intent behind municipal waters protection, warning of severe ecological and social risks if commercial fishing continues to encroach.
“This bill is not a reaction to a single case, but a reaffirmation of a long-standing commitment to small-scale fisherfolk,” Legarda said. “It restores legislative clarity and renews our obligation to protect subsistence fishers who rely on these waters for survival.”
Worsening Crisis for Small-Scale Fishers Revealed in Fisheries Data
Recent figures from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) show a sharp decline in Philippine fishery yields over the past decade, highlighting the urgent need to protect municipal waters for small-scale fishers.
According to BFAR data cited in the bill’s explanatory note, commercial fisheries production dropped by 25.7 percent from 1.1 million metric tons in 2014 to 822,427 metric tons in 2023, despite access to deeper offshore waters. Marine municipal fisheries also shrank by 14.5 percent, losing nearly 150,000 metric tons in the same period.
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing remains a major problem, causing an estimated ₱5.4 billion in annual income losses. In both 2022 and 2023, more than 107,000 metric tons of fish were lost to IUU activities, largely due to commercial vessels encroaching on municipal waters.
“If commercial fishing is allowed to expand further into these zones, we risk accelerating both ecological collapse and social displacement,” the bill’s explanatory note warns.
Reaffirming Local Stewardship and Constitutional Rights
The bill also reinforces constitutional and legal mandates recognizing the vital role of local governments in fisheries management and small fisher protection. The 1987 Constitution guarantees local autonomy under Article X, Section 2, and provides preferential rights to subsistence fishers over marine resources under Article XIII, Section 7.
The Local Government Code of 1991 empowers municipalities to enforce fishery laws, manage habitats like mangroves, and provide fisheries services. Notably, Section 149 grants LGUs exclusive authority to issue fishery privileges within their municipal waters, prioritizing marginal fishers.
State Authority and Decentralized Management
The bill invokes the principle of Jura Regalia, which vests natural resources under State ownership. While this authority traditionally rests with the national government, it is frequently delegated to LGUs empowered by national laws, such as the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998.
The bill stresses that the Mercidar ruling’s implication that delegation equals surrender of authority misinterprets decentralization’s purpose. The 15-kilometer municipal water limit is a regulatory boundary reflecting physical realities and constitutional commitments.
“When the State defines gear types, vessel limits, and enforcement rules, it is not stepping back, it is actively regulating and controlling,” the explanatory note states. “Without LGUs, how else can the State patrol over 2.2 million square kilometers of seas and 36,000 kilometers of coastline? This bill asserts State dominion over waters and guarantees equitable access to those in need.”
Grounded in Fisherfolk Realities
The legislation highlights a practical fact often overlooked: the 15-kilometer limit is not arbitrary. It corresponds to what small-scale fishers can safely reach using paddle boats or small bancas and what coastal communities can monitor from shore.
In a sea increasingly dominated by radar-equipped commercial fleets, Legarda notes, the issue is not whether small fishers can compete—they cannot. Instead, the urgent concern is how to uphold their constitutional preferential rights.
“With subsistence fishers unable to compete with commercial operators, the most direct, environmentally sound, and logical way to protect them is by reserving the only area they can safely access,” Legarda explained.
By reinstating this boundary, the bill aims to clarify legislative intent and correct what it views as a legal misstep that disregards the lived realities of fisherfolk who depend on the sea for survival.
“This legislation draws a rightful line between survival and exploitation, between a law and legal framework that serves the people and one that forgets them,” local leaders noted.
For more news and updates on municipal waters protection, visit Filipinokami.com.
