51
a. Ratify ILO Convention 188 or the Work in Fishing Convention which addresses a gap in labor
standards for fishers; addresses the specific nature of working in fishing; ensures fishers have
decent working and living conditions; and applies to all fishers in all fishing vessels engaged in
commercial fishing operations. 370
11. The government needs to consider existing studies that detail economic impacts and, more importantly,
environmental and socioeconomic impacts of coastal development projects. Having knowledge of these
impacts can help guide government in deciding and implementing reclamation and coastal development
projects in a way that is amenable to all affected. In doing so, genuine consultation with the affected
communities and information dissemination should also be done.
a. Review Executive Order no. 130371 which lifted the moratorium on mineral agreements under
Section 4, Executive Order no. 79. Such agreements become the basis for the continued threats
that fishing grounds and marine resources face from seabed quarrying and other mineral
extraction activities in coastal areas. The review should consider existing scientific studies
which detail the impacts of extraction activities on the country’s marine ecosystem.
b. Call for the concerned agencies to revise the existing IRR of the Fisheries Code to operationalize
the provisions of Section 108 of RA No. 8550 calling the DA to establish and create fisherfolk
settlements specifically near fishing grounds.
c. The CHR supports the passage of and urges the relevant government agencies to continue
advocacy work to push for the enactment of House Bill 6876,372 the bill that would mandate the
DA, the DHSUD, and the LGUs to establish fisherfolk settlement areas.
12. Ensure that guidelines limiting the mobility of the populace are clear, specific, simple, and coherent
during health emergencies or other humanitarian emergencies. This also includes policies on the
distribution of cash grants and emergency subsidies. This is to make sure that the benefits and
entitlements of citizens during the crisis get to the right beneficiaries timely.
a. Strengthen and ensure the accessibility of remedial mechanisms that check and impose
corrective measures against erring officials. These mechanisms should be, effective and
responsive.
b. Urge service providers to have a standard processing time of applications for benefits, loans,
and other social security services to set members’ expectations and hold those accountable in
case of unreasonable delays.
13. Conduct continuous monitoring of the situation of the artisanal fisherfolk and the emerging concerns of
the sector. In its role as Gender Ombud, the CHR should surface gender inequality issues and
mainstream participation of women at all levels of policy-making to ensure recognition in the sector.
The CHR will continue to continue to strengthen collaboration with relevant stakeholders including
national government agencies, local government units, the academe, fisherfolk organizations and their
support non-government organizations, and coastal communities, among others, in pursuit of the protection,
promotion, and fulfillment of the human rights of artisanal fisherfolk.
370
C188, supra note 21
371
EO 130 14 April 2021, Available from Executive Order No. 130 (lawphil.net) (last viewed 11/30/2021)
372
HB 6876, supra note 359