During its Special Meeting on July 2, 2025, the PCAF National Sectoral Committee (NSC) on Committee on Climate Change, Environment, and Natural Resources (CCENR) adopted a policy resolution endorsing the manifesto supporting the motion for reconsideration and petition-in-intervention seeking to overturn the Supreme Court decision permitting commercial fishing in municipal waters.

The manifesto emphasizes the need to uphold the preferential rights of municipal fisherfolk and safeguard local authority over municipal waters. The 2024 Supreme Court decision, which permits commercial fishing within the 15-kilometer municipal waters, has sparked significant concern among small-scale fishers, local government units (LGUs), and other stakeholders. They fear that the ruling could threaten marine ecosystem sustainability and exacerbate poverty in coastal communities by enabling larger commercial vessels to take advantage of nearshore resources traditionally reserved for small fisherfolk.

The policy resolution affirms the CCENR’s stance in solidarity with affected communities. As one of PCAF’s national-level consultative mechanisms, the CCENR plays a key role in integrating private sector participation into the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) priority programs by facilitating multi-stakeholder consultations, participatory monitoring, and feedback to enhance the implementation of DA projects and initiatives.