Civil society organizations have joined the Iloilo Provincial Government’s call for the reversal of the Supreme Court (SC) ruling permitting commercial fishing vessels within the 15-kilometer municipal waters.
Convenors of Fisherfolk and Environment Advocates Network (FIFTEEN) submitted to Provincial Administrator Raul Banias their petition, with at least 1,300 signatories composed of fisherfolk and people from various sectors, to support the provincial government’s petition which was forwarded to the SC recently.
Irma Espinosa of Bayan Muna Partylist, Crimson Labinghisa of Kabataan Partylist, Nathaniel Baga-ut of Youth Action for Environmental Protection (YouthProtec) and Lucia Capadocio of peasant group Pamanggas personally turned over their petition on Wednesday, March 26.
FIFTEEN stressed that the SC ruling threatens the livelihood of the more than two million small fisherfolk and is detrimental to the marine and aquatic resources.
It added, the ruling took the away local government unit’s authority and control over their municipal waters.
Labinghisa said, they gathered the signatures, with the help of their partner organizations, mostly from the coastal municipalities of Iloilo province.
Also listed as convenors of the group are Bayan-Panay, Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), and Oikos Ecological Movement Panay.
Banias thanked the group’s support as he assured that their petition will be forwarded to the SC to form part of the provincial government’s intervention.
“We are confident that with our concerted efforts the SC will overturn its ruling,” Banias said, noting that various LGUs and organizations across the country are against the SC ruling.
To recall, under the directive of Governor Arthur Defensor, Jr., the provincial government filed a motion for leave of court to intervene and admit the attached supplement to the petitioners’ motion for reconsideration.
Earlier, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan passed Resolution 2025-062 authorizing Gov. Defensor to represent the Province of Iloilo before the SC relative to the petitions versus the controversial ruling.
Banias noted that the ruling is “a clear Social Injustice for the Artisanal Fishermen and to the autonomy of the local government units (LGUs) that squarely run against the principles of Social Justice that guides us in the province in the formulation of policies and programs.”
Banias, a former mayor of the coastal municipality of Concepcion, stressed that the ruling threatens the livelihoods of small scale fisherfolk, destroys marine biodiversity, and undermines the efforts of the LGUs in sustainable fisheries management. (Capitol News)
From left: Provincial Agriculture Office personnel, Atty. Neil Rosales of Provincial Legal Office, Provincial Administrator Raul Banias, Irma Espinosa of Bayan Muna Partylist, Crimson Labinghisa of Kabataan Partylist, Nathaniel Baga-ut of YouthProtec, and Lucia Capadocio of Pamanggas.
