More than 150 people joined the march of Ilonggos on June 28 to defend the 15-kilometer municipal waters against the entry of commercial fishing. The march covered 40 kilometers from the town of Miag-ao to Iloilo City.
The march started at the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) in Miagao and lasted 12 hours. It passed through Guimbal, Tigbauan, and Oton before ending at the UPV campus in Iloilo City. Participants in the activity included fishers, students, local officials, and rights advocates.
The fishers said every step they took called for the defense of their exclusive rights to the municipal waters. Their chant was: “Aton ang Kinse!” (The Fifteen is Ours!).
The fishers’ struggle stems from the Supreme Court’s December 2024 decision that allowed large companies and businesses to fish in the municipal waters. This decision will devastate the livelihood of about 2 million fishers.
Small fishers, who use traditional and manual fishing methods, cannot compete with the commercial fishers’ advanced—and often destructive—equipment and technology. Large fishing vessels’ advanced equipment quickly deplete all types of marine resources.
