THE Bacolod City Council has passed a resolution supporting legal efforts to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision that removes local government control over municipal waters and permits unregulated commercial fishing.
The City Council also called for urgent action from the Office of the President, Congress, the Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and other concerned agencies to safeguard the rights of municipal fisherfolk and protect the fisheries and marine resources.
The resolution, authored by Councilor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, chairperson of the City Council’s committee on agriculture, was passed during its regular session on Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 26, 2025.
Sayson said unregulated commercial fishing in municipal waters may result in overfishing, destruction of marine habitats, and depletion of fish stocks, threatening the livelihood of municipal fisherfolk and worsening poverty in coastal communities.
He said various organizations and local government units have filed petitions and pursued legal remedies seeking the reconsideration of the SC’s decision, with the aim of restoring the local government units (LGUs) jurisdiction over municipal waters and upholding policies that ensure sustainable fisheries management and the protection of municipal fisherfolk.
“The City Council firmly upholds the principle of local autonomy of fisheries governance and recognizes the critical role of the LGUs in protecting municipal waters,” he added.
The ruling has stirred significant controversy by allowing commercial fishing vessels to operate within the 15-kilometer municipal water zone, traditionally reserved for small-scale fishers.
This decision, issued on Dec. 18, 2024, upholds a prior Malabon Regional Trial Court ruling that declared certain provisions of the Fisheries Code unconstitutional, effectively nullifying the preferential rights of municipal fishers in these waters. / MAP