Fisherfolk push bill upholding rights to municipal waters
Fishers’ group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Wednesday urged Congress to act on the proposed measure that seeks to grant small fisherfolk “absolute access” to municipal waters that have long been their traditional fishing grounds.
House Bill No. 5606 or the “Atin ang Kinse Kilometro” bill, which was filed on Oct. 20, also seeks to reverse the December 2023 ruling of a Malabon Regional Trial Court (RTC) that declared as unconstitutional the preferential rights and access of small-scale fishers over waters within 15 kilometers from the shore, the activist group said.
“The Atin ang Kinse Kilometro Bill is seeking to uphold the exclusive rights of the small fishers over the municipal waters that commercial fishers have been trying to exploit,” Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said in a statement.
The bill, he added, would also address the “unregulated and often destructive” operations of commercial fishing vessels in municipal waters by banning large-scale fishing activities within the 15-km area.
Loss of exclusive access
To formally lobby for the proposed measure, Pamalakaya said that it would file a position paper before the House panel on aquaculture and fisheries resources.
The group said that several fisherfolk organizations based in various regions and provinces, including Zambales, Panay Island and Bicol region, have also expressed support for the bill.
Small-time fishers have lost exclusive access to the 15-km zone of municipal waters since the Malabon RTC in December 2023 ruled in favor of Mercidar Fishing Corp., which filed a petition for declaratory relief to challenge the legality of parts of the Philippine Fisheries Code.
The fishing company specifically questioned the definition of municipal waters and why fishing privileges were given exclusively to small-time fisherfolk. INQ
The RTC decision also stripped local governments of their power to issue permits and limit the access of commercial fishing operators to municipal waters to ensure that the livelihood of small fishers are protected.
