The implementing rules for the much-opposed amended Fisheries Code have been finalized and are expected to be signed in a few days, according to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).
BFAR national director Asis G. Perez said in a statement that Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala was expected to sign the rules “any time before Sept. 24.”
Perez was referring to the last day of the six-month period that Republic Act No. 10654 set for the rules’ promulgation.
The BFAR chief said the rules were made ready after a 20-day drafting process that culminated on a meeting on Sept. 16.
“After thorough discussions and sharing of opinions, we have come to this day,” he said. “The [rules have] been formulated through multisectoral participation and consensus-building approach,” Perez said.
Earlier this year, some 2,000 commercial fishing operators in the Philippines condemned the swift progress in Congress of what they called the “killer bill,” which they feared would force them to close shop.
According to the Alliance of Philippine Fishing Federation Inc. (APFFI), key provisions of the amendments to the Code are so prohibitive.
Even then, Perez said both the government and the stakeholders had agreed to participate in the drafting of the implementing rules.
Back then, he said the drafting committee was to be composed of 18 representatives from the fisheries sector, nine from the government; two from the academe, and two from nongovernment organizations.
Among the issues addressed during the drafting of the implementing rules were the stiffer fines and penalties for serious violations and the mandatory installation of vessel monitoring system on all domestic fishing vessels—the very same items that the APFFI was opposing.
Yesterday, Perez said the National Fisheries and Aquatic Resource Management Council, the recommendatory body on fisheries policy, convened on the last four days of the deliberation until they reached the common decision to adopt the final version.