Manila Bulletin
Philippines
National
Shared stand: Poe, Elago call for stronger fisherfolk protection; raise alarm on marine degradation
Philippines
National
Shared stand: Poe, Elago call for stronger fisherfolk protection; raise alarm on marine degradation
Shared stand: Poe, Elago call for stronger fisherfolk protection; raise alarm on marine degradation
Published May 19, 2026 03:41 pm
At A Glance
- Brian Poe and Sarah Elago deliver privilege speeches on May 19, both calling for stronger protection of municipal fisherfolk, marine biodiversity, and Philippine waters.
- Poe highlights the economic value of the ocean sector, citing losses from illegal fishing and declining municipal fisheries, while urging improved maritime enforcement to safeguard food security and sovereignty.
- Elago defends the 15‑kilometer municipal water zone for small fisherfolk, warning against commercial encroachment and stressing that protecting municipal waters means protecting communities, livelihoods, and future generations.
PJ Panday Bayanihan Party-list Rep. Brian Poe (left), Gabriela Party-list Rep. Sarah Elago (Contributed photos)
In a moment of shared advocacy between two solons from the majority and minority blocs, FPJ Panday Bayanihan Party-list Rep. Brian Poe and Gabriela Party-list Rep. Sarah Elago have both battle for stronger protection of municipal fisherfolk, marine biodiversity, and Philippine waters.Poe and Elago did so in separate privilege speeches during plenary session Monday, May 19, wherein they warned that illegal fishing, environmental degradation, and commercial encroachment were threatening both Filipinos' livelihoods and national food security.Poe belongs to the majority bloc, while Elago is part of the minority through the militant Makabayan faction.Speaking during the observance of National Farmers’ and Fisherfolk’s Month and the Month of the Ocean, both lawmakers emphasized that the country’s oceans were not only environmental assets, but also critical pillars of economic survival, food production, and national sovereignty.Poe underscored the scale of the country’s marine resources and the growing threats facing coastal communities. “The real question is not whether we can afford conservation. The real question is whether we can afford ecological collapse,” he said.He noted that the Philippine ocean economy generated approximately P1.01 trillion in 2024, equivalent to 3.8 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), while supporting around 2.39 million jobs nationwide. He also cited data showing that the country has more than 2.5 million registered fisherfolk, many of whom remain among the poorest sectors in the country, with a poverty incidence of 30.6 percent.According to Poe, illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing continues to cost the country between P41.8 billion and P62.6 billion annually, with losses reaching as much as 766,000 metric tons of fish every year.“That is not just environmental damage. That is lost income, lost food, lost livelihoods, and lost opportunities for millions of Filipinos,” he stressed.Poe also raised alarm over declining municipal fisheries production, which dropped by 6.7 percent in 2025, from 802.86 thousand metric tons in 2024 to only 749.37 thousand metric tons in 2025.“The trend is clear: small fisherfolk are shrinking, industrial extraction is growing, and if we continue down this path without proper conservation and regulation, we risk collapsing the very ecosystems that sustain our fisheries sector,” he said.'The sea is life'Meanwhile, Elago focused her speech on defending municipal waters and opposing proposals that would expand commercial fishing operations into areas traditionally reserved for small fisherfolk.“For our fisherfolk, the sea is not an abstract resource. The sea is life,” she said.She described the 15-kilometer municipal water zone as a “lifeline” for small fisherfolk and coastal communities.“When commercial fishing vessels enter municipal waters, this is not modernization. This is dispossession,” Elago noted.The Makabayan solon warned that small fishing communities already face worsening poverty, climate disasters, declining fish catch, fuel costs, pollution, reclamation, and weak government support.“Food security cannot be built by dispossessing food producers,” she said. “A nation cannot feed itself by pushing small fisherfolk out of their own waters.”Elago also highlighted the role of women in sustaining fishing communities, noting that women often shoulder the burden of managing households, processing and selling fish, and rebuilding communities after disasters.“When the sea is depleted, women stretch what little remains. When income disappears, women find ways to keep families alive,” she said.Boost maritime enforcement Poe additionally emphasized the need to strengthen maritime enforcement capabilities, as he noted that the country’s estimated 38 to 40 patrol vessels are responsible for monitoring one of the world’s longest coastlines spanning over 36,000 kilometers (kms). This amounts to 950 km per vessel, or the distance between Manila and Davao, he said.“The Philippines cannot import its way out of food insecurity. We cannot overfish our oceans into prosperity. And we cannot claim to defend our sovereignty while neglecting the very waters that define us as a maritime nation,” Poe said.For her part, Elago stressed that protecting municipal waters ultimately means protecting communities, livelihoods, and future generations.“Kapag ipinagtatanggol natin ang municipal waters, ipinagtatanggol natin ang pagkain, kabuhayan, komunidad, at ang karagatan mismo,” she concluded.(When we defend our municipal waters, we defend our food, livelihood, community, and the ocean itself.)