Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. said proposed amendments to the Fisheries Code of 1998 will include giving local government units (LGUs) the authority to allow commercial fishing vessels to ply municipal waters.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Department of Agriculture's (DA) budget hearing at the House of Representatives last week, Mr. Laurel said the power to admit such vessels rests on the Local Government Code of 1991.

Mr. Laurel said the DA wants the proposed amendments to be depth-based, with LGU decisions determined by the depth of the waters. Under the Fisheries Code, commercial fishing is prohibited in municipal waters at depths of less than seven fathoms, as certified by the appropriate agency. Municipal waters — generally the area extending up to 15 kilometers from the shoreline — have long been reserved primarily for small-scale and subsistence fisherfolk, a provision rooted in the constitutional policy of protecting artisanal fishermen and preferential access to marine resources.

"We're basically saying that it's up to the LGUs and their councils to allow commercial or small commercial (fishing vessels) to enter their waters. Of course, with limitations based on the depth," Mr. Laurel told reporters.

He added that the proposed amendments to the Fisheries Code should require commercial fishing vessels to use vessel monitoring systems (VMS).

"That's my position, even as a fisherman. There should be VMS," Mr. Laurel said.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources earlier passed Fisheries Administrative Order No. 266, which required commercial fishing vessels to install VMS and electronic reporting systems to monitor illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. The requirement was part of the Philippines' obligations as a member of regional fisheries management bodies and a signatory to international instruments countering IUU fishing.

The order was struck down in a 2021 ruling by the Malabon City Regional Trial Court Branch 170, which declared it unconstitutional. The Supreme Court upheld that ruling in a 13-2 decision promulgated on Jan. 31. The court rulings meant the government lost its main electronic monitoring tool for commercial vessels, underscoring why the DA is now seeking to anchor VMS requirements in the Fisheries Code itself through legislation rather than administrative order.

Mr. Laurel said the DA is preparing the final version of the amendments and expects them to be completed by this week. Once finalized, the amendments would still need to go through the congressional legislative process before taking effect. — Marron Joshua F. Mendoza