Surigao town appeals to Marcos Jr.: Save small fishers from SC ruling

MANILA, Philippines — Local officials of a town dependent on fishing have called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the Supreme Court to reverse a ruling that opens municipal waters to commercial fishing vessels, backing its small-scale fishers who face displacement from their traditional fishing grounds. 

The municipal government of Del Carmen in Surigao del Norte warned the ruling threatens to dismantle its decade-long program that transformed subsistence fishers into "professional fishers with dignity." This is while putting at risk the sector that provides 65% of Filipino households their primary protein source. 

The Supreme Court on December 19 struck down provisions restricting commercial fishing within the 15-kilometer municipal water zone. By doing so, it also upholds a Malabon Regional Trial Court decision that found preferential access for small-scale fishers unconstitutional. The ruling stemmed from a petition by Mercidar Fishing Corp.

"The local government of Del Carmen together with the Sangguniang Bayan of Del Carmen expresses the sentiments of the local fishers not only of Del Carmen but of all the two million small fishers in the Philippines in appealing for consideration the Supreme Court decision," the municipal government said in a statement on December 23. 

Del Carmen, a fifth-class municipality that is the largest on Siargao Island, has built its economy around farming and small-scale fishing. Most of its 22,500 residents rely on fishing and agriculture. 

In its statement, the Del Carmen municipal government cited the multiple challenges already facing small-scale fishers, including climate change, lack of social protection, and limited access to public services.  

"The same fisherfolks contribute as well to feeding 65% of the Filipinos for their preferred protein source coming from the bounty of the Municipal Waters that have been protected and preserved allowing fish stocks to grow and recover," the Del Carmen municipal government added. 

Philippine Statistics Authority data show fisherfolk face a poverty incidence of 30.6% as of 2021, consistently recording among the highest poverty rates nationwide along with farmers.

Risks

The municipal government directly appealed to the president and the Supreme Court to reconsider the ruling, adding that it hopes for an "equitable and sustainable policy that serves who need it the most."

National fisher group PAMALAKAYA on Friday, December 27 similarly expressed its opposition to the ruling, saying it allows commercial vessels to dominate municipal waters and deplete in days what takes small fishers months to catch.

Ronnel Arambulo, the group's vice chairperson, explained that commercial fishing operations, which use advanced technology, rapidly deplete marine resources in ways traditional fishing methods do not.

He estimates the ruling would “adversely affect over two million” artisanal fishers.

"Even before the Court's decision, commercial fishing vessels are already operating extensively in municipal waters, which is one of the reasons small-scale fishers are experiencing losses," Arambulo said in Filipino.

Fisher and environmental organizations including Oceana and Pangisda Pilipinas have similarly criticized the ruling as it could accelerate the depletion of fish stocks. They cautioned that if used as precedent to amend the Fisheries Code, the decision could give big fishing operators virtual monopoly over almost all Philippine waters.

Arambulo said his group will conduct nationwide consultations with municipal fishers to plan their response to the ruling.