Surigao del Sur LGUs push for direct intervention in the SC’s ruling on municipal waters

ALBAY, Philippines — The League of Municipalities of the Philippines, Surigao del Sur Chapter,  files a resolution challenging the Supreme Court’s decision to “remove the jurisdiction of the LGUs over the municipal/city waters.”

“It is the unanimous view of the League members that the LGU’s direct intervention before the Supreme Court is imperative to ensure that they be made parties to the case as Petitioners-Intervenors, and to enable them to advance their cause in Court,” the resolution read.

The purpose of the independent intervention is to protect the rights of fisherfolk and local communities in its 17 municipalities and two cities “from the adverse effect of the decision, if not reversed or considered,” as well as to fully support the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the Department of Agriculture, through the Office of the Solicitor General, in their efforts to overturn the SC ruling that allows commercial fishing in municipal water. 

According to the resolution, the decision “aggrieved” the mayors of Surigao del Sur Province by “effectively ousting” them from their roles as both national government partners and local autonomy representatives in coastal management without giving them a chance to be heard.

The League members explained that the decision that has caused problems for local governments across the country was unfairly influenced by a procedural error, specifically the failure of the said government agencies to file the necessary documents on time.

Not ordinary law

The resolution stated that the provisions of the amended Fisheries Code and its implementing rules and regulations declared by the SC as unconstitutional are part of environmental law, and thus subject to the procedure for environmental cases, which include provisions for citizen suits. 

The latter allows a person or groups to file legal actions to enforce environmental laws and protect the environment. Its specialized nature requires the participation of various stakeholders to address the complex and critical issues related to environmental protection and sustainable development.  

Moreover, the resolution emphasized that the provisions of RA 8550 (Fisheries Code of 1998, as amended by RA 10654) are significant not only in terms of environmental protection, but also in providing protection for marginalized fisherfolk, as guaranteed by the Constitution’s social justice clause.

The League Chapter will directly represent the independent petition alongside two alliances that oversee fisheries management in their respective towns, the Lanuza Bay Development Alliance and the Coastal Community Alliance Unified for Sustainable Ecosystem. 

Meanwhile, Oceana acting vice-president Rose-Liza Eisma-Osorio reminds local government officials and all enforcement agencies to continue fulfilling their statutory mandate to protect the 15-kilometer municipal waters from commercial fishing operations. “Until the SC decision becomes final and executory, it is imperative to maintain the status quo,” she said.

Fishers, including those from Panay, lament in a statement released by national fishers’ group PAMALAKAYA that even without the SC’s ruling, coastal municipalities along the Guimaras Strait, Panay Gulf, and Visayan Sea are already “frequented” by commercial fishing vessels that “engaged in illegal fishing [by using] trawl and purse seine (locally known as kubkub).” (RVO)

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