Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 11) — Fishing companies Royal Fishing Corporation, Bonanza Fishing and Market Resources, Inc., and RBL Fishing Corporation have asked the Supreme Court to uphold a lower court’s ruling declaring Fisheries Administrative Order No. 266 (FAO 266) unconstitutional.
Lawyer Arnold Naval, who is representing the commercial fishing operators, defended during Tuesday’s oral arguments the decision of the Malabon City Regional Trial Court that issued a permanent injunction against the implementation of FAO 266.
FAO 266, which was issued by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, requires commercial fishing vessels to install tracking devices and for them to report their catch through the vessel monitoring system (VMS) and electronic reporting system (ERS).
Naval argued the Malabon court was correct in ruling that information on the fishing grounds of fishing companies constitute trade secrets and FAO 266’s mandatory installation of real-time VMS violated the fishing companies’ right to privacy and unlawful searches.
He noted that the administrative order violated the equal protection clause of the Constitution by regulating only commercial fishing vessels and leaving the regulation of municipal fishing vessels to the discretion of local government units.
Naval also stressed that FAO 266 was issued without public consultation and delineation of municipal waters which also violated the constitutional right of fishing companies to due process.
“Once BFAR installs the VMS, it will have unrestricted power to access sensitive information to monitor the location and activities of the fishing vessels,” he said. “This violates the commercial fishing operators’ constitutional rights to privacy and unlawful searches, among others.”
But the government’s top lawyer, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, argued these tracking systems aid state implementers and enable them to monitor all duly registered commercial fishing vessels to ensure that they are operating within authorized fishing grounds and guide them in the prosecution of violators of fisheries law.
Guevarra warned that US$320 million (roughly more than P18 billion) worth of fish products bound for Europe every year are in danger of being rejected if the Philippine government fails to certify that such fish products were not caught through illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing (IUUF).
He explained that the country is a state party to various treaties and agreements recognizing the right and duty of states to adopt conservation and management measures for the protection of the marine environment and the long-term sustainable use of living marine resources.
“A declaration of unconstitutionality of FAO 266 frustrates the State’s effort to honor its international commitments and render it powerless to uphold the shared goals these commitments represent,” Guevarra said in his opening statement.
He said the value of Philippine exports of fishing products amounted to about US$1 billion in 2021, and has significantly declined over the years.
“Many of our fishing grounds have gone beyond sustainable fishing levels as a result of intense fishing pressure,” the solicitor general noted. “As owner of these natural resources, the state is bound to protect the nation’s marine wealth.”
