Amendments to the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998

This measure involves introducing amendments to certain sections of Republic Act (RA) 8550, or the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 (as amended by RA 10654). President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. identified this as a priority measure during his second State of the Nation Address along with the initial list of LEDAC priority bills identified in 2022.

While the President did not specify the amendments this administration will be pushing for, analysts note that there at least four areas of concern that various bills in Congress are looking to address: fisherfolk resettlement, the revitalization of the salt industry, changes to municipal water zones, and the creation of the Manila Bay Management Council. Some advocacy groups believe that the proposed amendments will have to do with municipal waters, though this cannot be categorically proven as of writing.

PSA notes that for the purposes of this brief, PSA will be tracking bills that concern fisherfolk resettlement.

In the House of Representatives, Representatives Tobias Tiangco and Danny Domingo filed House Bill (HB) 6716 last December 15, 2022. The bill was approved on third reading last February 6, 2023, and is pending in the Senate as of February 15, 2023.

HB 6716 proposes to amend Section 108 (Fisherfolk Resettlement Areas) of RA 8550. The amendment involves delegating the identification, establishment, and creation of fisherfolk settlement areas from the Department of Agriculture alone (DA) to the DA jointly with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the local government units (city or municipality-level) exercising jurisdiction over coastal areas and municipal waters. The bill provides for the prioritization of fisherfolk in the awarding of existing settlement areas, and the prioritization of fisherfolk with no real property in the awarding of newly-established settlement areas. It also mandates local government units to include these settlement areas in their respective comprehensive land use plans.

Two bills on the measure are currently lodged in the Senate. Senate Bill (SB) 2705 was filed by Senator Jinggoy Estrada last June 4, 2024 and is currently pending in the Committee on Agriculture, Food, and Agrarian Reform as of July 29. Earlier, Senator Raffy Tulfo lodged Senate Bill (SB) 1702 last January 18, 2023, with the bill still pending in the same committee as of writing. Both bills propose the same amendments to Section 108 and can be considered counterparts of HB 6716.