SC ruling threatens livelihood of 45,000 Negros Occidental fishermen

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Lawmakers and local government officials in Negros Occidental have joined fishers’ groups in expressing concern over the decision of the Supreme Court (SC) allowing commercial fishing vessels to operate within the 15-kilometer municipal waters.

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said the SC ruling threatens the livelihood of more than 45,000 municipal fisherfolk belonging to 472 associations in 25 coastal towns.

During a press briefing in Talisay City, Senate majority leader Francis Tolentino and Las Piñas Rep. Camille Villar pushed for amendments to the Philippine Fisheries Code to clearly specify the distance of municipal waters from shore.

Tolentino, who chairs the Senate special committee on maritime and admiralty zones, noted that a motion for reconsideration has been filed before the SC.

“But this does not prevent Congress, including the Senate, from enacting a law that clearly specifies municipal waters where big trawlers and commercial vessels can no longer enter,” Tolentino said.

Villar cited the need to protect the livelihoods of crab producers and small fisherfolk in the region.