About 300 fishers and youth gathered at the Sunken Garden in the University of the Philippines, 7 June, using the space to educate the youth on current dangers threatening fisherfolk livelihoods, particularly commercial industries encroaching on the 15 km municipal waters promised by the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. to small fisherfolk.

As part of a petition by Oceana Philippines to current President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., fishers and youth organizations formed a human banner of the number 15. They were surrounded by a circle of advocates from both groups holding hands in solidarity and displaying a large yellow banner at the front that read, “Para sa Mangingisda.”

According to Oceana organizers, the number 15 symbolized the 15 km of municipal waters, with their large banner clearly conveying who should own and profit from these contested waters.

The circle of advocates, on the other hand, was explained by organizers as a representation of natural barriers holding strong against threats to the 15-kilometer buffer supposedly reserved for small-scale fishers.

The 15-kilometer buffer zone court proceedings

In 1975, former President Marcos Sr. signed the Presidential Decree No. 704 to protect small-scale fisherfolk by banning commercial vessels within seven nautical miles from the shoreline or in waters less than seven fathoms deep.

To fix the enforcement issues caused by the complex depth metrics, the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 or Republic Act No. 8550 was enacted to officially reserve the exclusive 15 km zone from the coastline for municipal fishers.

The Philippine Fisheries Code was then later amended by RA No. 10654 to heighten penalties for illegal commercial encroachment.

In 2024, however, the Supreme Court First Division affirmed a Malabon Regional Trial Court (RTC) decision declaring parts of the Fisheries Code unconstitutional, stripping the LGUs’ jurisdiction over the municipal waters zone and lifting the ban on commercial fishing in shallow waters.

This ruling became final because the Office of the Solicitor General missed the strict deadline to file an appeal, the SC noted.

Small scale-fishers along with environmental groups actively protested against the Supreme Court ruling, warning it will open vital nearshore fish habitats to destructive commercial fleets.

As of current latest legal updates, the Department of Agriculture - Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources along with mobilized coastal groups are still waiting for the Supreme Court to reconsiderate a reversal for this controversial decision.

Today, small scale-fishers with support from local advocacy groups like Oceana Philippines, in full coordination with BFAR, the PCG, the PNP Maritime Group and LGUs, have made a petition for the current President to uphold the law’s promise to the municipal fisherfolk under RA 10654.

“Mr. President, we, your fellow Filipinos, ask you to direct the strict enforcement of the 15-kilometer municipal water exclusivity under RA 10654. Defend the 15-kilometer provision against any attempt – legislative, judicial, or administrative – to weaken it,” the petition stated.