Christian Monsod, Bishop David file SC petition against commercial fishing

Constitutional framers Christian Monsod and Bishop Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David, along with environmental lawyer Grizelda Mayo-Anda, filed a petition with the Supreme Court on Thursday, April 24, to overturn a Malabon Regional Trial Court decision that allowed commercial fishing within municipal waters.

The petition argues that Judge Zaldy Docena's December 2023 ruling in favor of Mercidar Fishing Corporation disregarded constitutional and statutory protections over municipal waters and struck down key provisions of Republic Act 8550, the Fisheries Code.

Monsod and David warn that allowing commercial vessels to operate within these waters jeopardizes the livelihoods of thousands of subsistence fishers and accelerates the depletion of already fragile fish stocks.

The petition also criticizes the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) for their perceived inadequate defense of the Fisheries Code in the RTC, stating that they failed to adequately protect public interests.

Other petitions have been filed by Oceana Philippines International and fisherfolk organization PAMALAKAYA against the Supreme Court resolution allowing Mercidar Fishing Corporation to operate within municipal waters, cautioning that large-scale fishing corporations could rapidly deplete fish stocks.