BACOLOD City – The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) here approved a resolution on Wednesday, February 26, in full support for all legal initiatives in seeking reconsideration of the Supreme Court (SC) resolution removing local government jurisdiction over municipal waters and allowing unimpeded commercial fishing.
The SP also called for an urgent action to safeguard the rights of municipal fisherfolk and protect local fisheries and marine resources.
On December 19, 2024, the SC issued a decision that removed the 15-kilometer municipal water demarcation, which had prioritized municipal fisherfolk and regulated commercial fishing operations within those waters.
Councilor Thaddy Sayson, chairperson of the SP committee on agriculture, said unregulated commercial fishing in municipal waters may result in overfishing destruction of marine habitats, and depletion of fish stocks, threatening the livelihood of municipal fisherfolk and worsening poverty in coastal communities.
He said various organizations and local government units (LGUs) have filed petitions and pursued legal remedies seeking the reconsideration of the SC’s decision, with the aim of restoring the LGUs’ jurisdiction over municipal waters and upholding policies that ensure sustainable fisheries management and the protection of municipal fisherfolk.
The SP firmly upholds the principle of local autonomy in fisheries governance and recognizes the critical role of LGUs in protecting municipal waters; thus, it respectfully asserts that reconsideration of the SC’s ruling is imperative to safeguard the rights municipal fisherfolk and ensure the sustainability of marine ecosystems.
Sayson said the SP resolution further implores the SC to reconsider and overturn its ruling in light of the constitutional provisions on local autonomy (Article X, Section 2), environmental protection (Article II, Section 16), and social justice (Article II, Section 9), as well as the State’s duty to protect municipal fisherfolk and ensure the sustainable use of marine resources (Article XII, Section 2 and Article XIII, Section 7).
The council also calls for urgent action from the Office of the President, the Congress, the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and other concerned agencies to safeguard the rights of municipal fisherfolk and to protect our fisheries and marine resources./PN
