32 mayors, civil society oppose BFAR-proposed contraction in municipal waters

CEBU CITY – Thirty-two mayors from the coastal towns in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao in an online forum organized by different civil society groups under the Pangingisda Natin Gawing Tama (PaNaGaT) network has passed a resolution opposing a proposal from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to use the coast of the mainland as reference point in the delineation of municipal waters instead of the farthest offshore island of a town.

The resolution was submitted to the National Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (NFARMC) which is deliberating the proposed rules of delineation of the municipal waters, according to a media release from OCEANA communication manager Joyce Sierra.

The draft policy that adheres to the mainland principle could dramatically alter the territorial jurisdictions the mayors added that it would also affect current local government initiatives and policy issuances in managing the municipal waters as accorded by the Local Government Code to the LGUs, OCEANA said.

Sierra cited a study conducted by OCEANA that almost 30 local government units stand to lose more than 50 percent of their municipal waters or top 50 coastal towns to lose municipal waters leaving offshore island communities at the mercy of commercial fishing.

“We believe that delineating the municipal waters of coastal LGUs with offshore islands should start from the farthest island of the municipality,” Mayor Mary Jean Te of Libertad, Antique said.  Using the mainland as reference of delineation as proposed by the BFAR will drastically reduce the area of the municipal waters and open these to commercial fishers, she added.

OCEANA said that Cuyo, Palawan topped the list with 85 percent of its municipal waters to be considered as national waters, allowing commercial fishing to exploit its critical marine resources.

This is followed by Culasi, Antique that will lose 84 percent of its municipal waters, and the third is Vinzons, Camarines Norte with 82 percent loss.   Eight coastal towns of the top 28 municipalities losing 50 percent and more of their municipal waters are in Palawan, OCEANA bared.

The local chief executives urged the Department of Agriculture (DA) and BFAR to allow them to treat their waters between their islands as one management unit, where their fish sanctuaries, marine reserves and managed access areas form as integral parts of their jurisdiction.

The resolution underscored the lack of consultation with local chief executives on the existing draft guidelines on municipal water delineation.  The resolution also strongly urged the DA-BFAR to initiate more transparent and participatory consultations in coordination with the League of Cities and Municipalities, and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“DA-BFAR cannot abandon the municipal archipelagic baselines in delineating municipal waters.  The archipelagic principle is consistent with the legislative intent to adopt this principle in defining municipal waters under the Philippine Fisheries Code as well as its legislative history of our fisheries laws and regulation,” part of the resolution read.

The managing trustee of the Philippine Earth Justice Center, Atty. Liza Eisma-Osorio explained that It is also consistent with the policy objectives of the State to ensure local autonomy of LGUs over their municipal waters and preferential treatment to municipal fisherfolk as expressed in the Constitution and the Fisheries Code, as amended.   

The draft guidelines for Delineating/Delimiting Municipal Waters for Municipalities and Cities with Offshore Islands was circulated by the BFAR in a recent meeting of the NFARMC.

Aside from having no legal basis, the mayors agree that the BFAR’s espousal of the mainland principle of delineating municipal water is contrary to the constitutionally mandated preferential rights to access municipal waters by municipal fisherfolk, OCEANA bared. 

The mayors are also asking BFAR to provide access to the information generated from vessel monitoring measures as this would help them monitor and enforce the ban on commercial fishing in the municipal waters and protect the rights of their municipal fishers.

The draft guidelines for Delineating/Delimiting Municipal Waters for Municipalities and Cities with Offshore Islands was circulated by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in a recent meeting of the NFARMC.  An online copy is accessible at  BFAR Proposed Guidelines on Municipal Water Delineation.