October 20, 2025 · Makabayan representatives filed the Atin ang Kinse Kilometro bill on Monday, October 20, which seeks to grant exclusive rights to small fisherfolk over municipal waters within the 15-kilometer zone.
It also aims to prohibit fishing gears and practices such as purse seine, ring net, trawl fishing, muro ami, and modified Danish seine, Rappler reported. This is in line with its explanatory note that stressed how the bill seeks to “uphold sustainable fishing practices over destructive and environmentally harmful commercial fishing operations.”
Recent court rulings have threatened the small-scale fishers’ right to municipal waters. On August 19, 2024, the High Court’s First Division backed a ruling in favor of Mercidar Fishing Corporation. The trial court had struck down parts of the 1998 Fisheries Code as unconstitutional, allowing the commercial company to fish within municipal waters extending 15 kilometers from shore.
