Small fisherfolk across the archipelago rally behind a bill seeking exclusive fishing rights over municipal waters, which they say have been taken over by big commercial fishing firms.
The Makabayan bloc on Monday filed House Bill No. 5606, or the “Atin ang Kinse Kilometro” bill, which seeks to mandate the exclusive rights of “small-scale and subsistence” fisherfolk over waters 15 kilometers from the shore, also known as “municipal waters.”
The filing coincided with the Atin ang Kinse Kilometro Municipal Fisherfolk Summit held at the College of Social Work and Community Development in the University of the Philippines Diliman, organized by fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamalakaya (PAMALAKAYA).
Municipal fishers from various regions across the country, including Bicol, Ilocos, La Union, Panay, Negros, Cebu, Cavite and Navotas, said their livelihoods have suffered since a court ruling cleared large commercial fishing fleets to fish within municipal waters where small fishers once had preferential access.
They were referring to a 2023 Malabon court decision, later upheld by the Supreme Court in 2024, that stripped local governments of control over municipal waters and ruled that giving small fishers exclusive fishing rights in such areas was unconstitutional. Commercial fishing company Mercidar Fishing Corporation initiated the case.
The decision limited small-scale fishers’ exclusive rights to waters only seven fathoms or roughly around 12 feet deep, which fisherfolk described as “shallow waters.”
Conservation group Oceana Philippines said it opened up 90% of the municipal waters to big fishing companies.
“‘Yong isang libong mangingisda [at] ‘yong mga maliliit na bangka [nila], wala pang ni isang kilo ang nahuhuli…’Yong para sa ating mga mangingisda, kinukuha na nila [commercial fishing vessels]… kaya mahal ang isda natin. Kaya tayo’y naghihirap talaga,” Wilfredo delos Reyes, a La Union-based fisher, told attendees at the fisherfolk summit.
The Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) latest poverty incidence report said 27.4% of Filipino fisherfolk earn below the minimum income required to meet basic needs.
Both commercial and municipal fishers also posted lower production in the second quarter of 2025, PSA reported. Municipal catch fell 5.5% from the same period in 2024, dragging down overall fisheries output from April to June.
Small fisherfolk said big fishers’ destructive fishing techniques in municipal waters threaten their livelihood, not only by competing for catch but also by disrupting their daily fishing routines.
“[K]umbaga, ‘yong … kemikal … na nagbibigay ng lason sa mga kailugan na siya namang, kung titingnan natin, ‘yon din ang [sumisira] sa mga tubig-dagat,” said Tony Dollente, a fisherfolk representative from Bicol.
He also said various provinces in the region continue to grapple with the effects of poisoning from such fishing techniques.
PAMALAKAYA Chairperson Fernando Hicap said it is high time to pass a law that would protect municipal waters from large-scale, unregulated commercial fishing vessels known for destructive practices.
“Kaakibat ng pagsusumite ng panukalang batas ay ang tuloy-tuloy naming pangangalampag sa Kongreso na dinggin ang panawagan ng mga mangingisda na magkaroon ng eksklusibong karapatan sa pook-pangisdaan,” he added.
