Silay court denies fisher folks’ TRO

THE Silay City court has denied the application for the Issuance of a Writ of Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) filed by the 70 fisher folks from Sitio Bungol and Sitio Roma, Barangay Balaring.

Said case is against Silay City Mayor Jose Montelibano and two others from the city.

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Filed as a class suit under civil case no. 2705-69, along with Montelibano were Jason Benedicto, city fisheries officer and chief of police Superintendent Jerry Bartolome.

Presiding Judge Felipe G. Banzon of Regional Trial Court Branch 69 on Thursday likewise, ordered the fisher folks headed by their representative, Amelita Villarin, through their legal counsel lawyer Janus Jarder, to appear on March 24, 2010, at 8:30 a.m. for a hearing on their prayer for the issuance of a Writ for Preliminary Injunction.

The court’s denial was on a premise that “in the evidence in the summary hearing undertaken by this Court, as well as the pleadings on record, there is an absence of a sufficient factual premise of the right sought to be protected by issuance of a temporary restraining order, as well as, of a definite showing of the submitted clear and irreparable damage of injury that the petitioners may suffer, if the writ prayed for be not issued.”

Last March 4, 2010, 47 of the plaintiffs were apprehended by members of the Philippine National Police of Silay City as they were gathering angel wings shells, locally known as diwal, from the shore of Sitio Roma, Barangay Balaring.

Three of the 47 fisher folks were detained and charged for violation of City Ordinance No. 4 series of 1997 which regulates fishing and fisheries within seven-kilometer distance from the shorelines in the city water of Silay.

Also, City Ordinance No. 3, Series of 2000 established a fishery management area in the territorial waters of Silay, regulating the fishing activities therein and providing penalties for any violations.

Further, City Ordinance No. 22, Series of 2008 amended the penalties provided for in Tax Ordinance No. 5 Series of 1993.

The court further cited that the Department of Agriculture issued Fishery Administrative Order No. 208, series of 2001 which declared certain species of aquatic life as rare, threatened, and endangered.

Thus it prohibited the taking and catching of the listed species and provided penalties for these act.

Diwal or angel wings shell was among those listed as threatened species of gastropods, Banzon said. And the harvests of angel wings shells were being undertaken in a highly regulated process.

Banzon cited Section 7 of CO no. 3 that it prohibits any person to gather, harvest, collect or take any kind of shellfish within the fish management area or conduct any fishing activities which shall cause to destroy or in any manner disturb the sea bottom of the area, which include but not limited to trawl fishing, spear fishing and other fishing activities using active fishing gears.

“The public officials are exercising the police power vested in the local government unit by the Local Government Code of 1991 to protect and conserve aquatic resources in the city,” said Banzon.