As the nation prepares for the May 2025 midterm elections, fisherfolk from communities surrounding the Verde Island Passage (VIP) are calling on candidates to uphold their rights and protect one of the world’s most critical marine ecosystems.
Twenty-nine fisherfolk organizations from the provinces of Batangas, Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque, and Romblon issued a unified agenda urging candidates to adopt policies that defend small-scale fishers’ access to municipal waters and protect the VIP from mounting environmental threats.
The agenda is the outcome of “Piliin ang VIP” consultations held in April, led by the Protect VIP Network, the Center for Energy, Ecology and Development (CEED), De La Salle Lipa, and Caritas Philippines.
“We challenge aspiring leaders to show genuine commitment to protecting both our environment and vulnerable communities,” said Father Edwin Gariguez, lead convenor of Protect VIP.
“Beyond electoral campaigns, we urge them to adopt this fisherfolk agenda as the foundation for their long-term advocacies,” the priest added.
He emphasized the need to recognize fisherfolk as key stewards of the ocean and called for greater representation of their often-overlooked voices in national policymaking.
The groups warned that the marine corridor—recognized as a global center of marine biodiversity—is under growing pressure from illegal and commercial fishing, industrial expansion, and the worsening impacts of the climate crisis.
The agenda includes a demand to “enforce the exclusive rights of small-scale fisherfolk within the 15-kilometer municipal waters,” in response to a recent Supreme Court ruling that allows commercial fishing in these zones—traditionally reserved for artisanal fishing communities.
“Our call to those in power and those running for office is to give attention to the plight of small-scale fisherfolk,” said Rodrigo De Jesus, president of Bukluran ng Mangingisda sa Batangas. “We are losing our rights to the seas. Our plea is simple: give us what is rightfully ours.”
De Jesus also called for legislative action to secure formal protection for the VIP through its inclusion under the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System (ENIPAS) and its nomination as a World Heritage Site.
“We, fisherfolk, will suffer if the destruction of the ocean continues,” he said. “Protecting the ocean also protects our livelihood.”
The agenda has been sent to senatorial, congressional, and local government candidates across the five provinces bordering the VIP.
