The Supreme Court of the Philippines has affirmed a lower court's ruling declaring certain provisions of the Fisheries Code unconstitutional. The decision states that Philippine waters, as natural resources owned by the State, should be regulated by national, not local, government. While the Constitution emphasizes protecting subsistence fishermen's rights, the court ruled that this does not explicitly exclude commercial fishing corporations.
DID the courts just abolish our municipal waters ? Pertinent provisions of the Fisheries Code of the Philippines and in its implementing rules and regulations were declared unconstitutional by Malabon Regional Trial Court Branch 170 a year ago. On Aug. 19, 2024, the Supreme Court 's First Division affirmed the RTC's ruling.Specifically, the Fisheries Code 's Sections 4 , 16 and 18, and the IRR's corresponding provisions were struck down. Section 4 defines Municipal Waters .
However, the court also found that the government's 'allegations, issues and arguments' put forward failed 'to sufficiently show that the RTC committed any irreversible error in the challenged decision and order.'This is unfortunate. Fishermen constitute the poorest sector of society . By removing or diluting the preferential treatment enshrined in the Constitution, the fishermen will slide further into poverty.
Philippines Supreme Court Fisheries Code Municipal Waters Commercial Fishing Subsistence Fishing Constitutional Law
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