THE PHILIPPINES CELEBRATES THE OCEAN MONTH

The month of May has been declared as the "Month of the Ocean" through a Proclamation issued by the then President Joseph Estrada on 09 January 1999. Proclamation no. 57 recognizes that "coastal and marine resources provide both economic and ecological benefits such as food, livelihood, recreation and other services, as well as biodiversity, aesthetic value, and shoreline protection". The Proclamation also reiterated the provision in the Constitution that "The State shall protect the nation’s marine wealth in its archipelagic waters, territorial sea, and exclusive economic zone, and reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens" (Art. XII, Sec. 2, para. 2). This Proclamation actually was inspired by the declaration made by the United Nations General Assembly designating the year 1998 as the International Year of the Ocean.

The DENR, DA, and BFAR, among others, have been designated as the lead agencies to spearhead the celebration of the Month of the Ocean every month of May in every year beginning 1999. These lead agencies are mandated to conduct activities that will highlight the conservation, protection, and management of the Philippine coastal and marine resources. As part the activities lined up for the celebration of the Month of the Ocean, the DENR-NCR is set to distribute flyers containing information about the Month of the Ocean as well as about biodiversity on selected Colleges and Universities with trimester schooling and  on various local government units in Metro Manila.

Checking through the list of activities prepared by the DENR, it appears, however, that no actual and direct participation is being solicited from the people. I believe that it would be better if the DENR go beyond mere distribution of flyers. For instance, the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998 mandated the Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources to set the Catch Ceiling Limitations/Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY).

Section 8 of the Code requires the Secretary to prescribe limitations or quota on the total quantity of fish captured, for a specified period of time and specified area, which may be imposed per species of fish. However, when I inquired about the status of the implementation of this provision from the DENR Main Office, the staff instructed me to inquire from the BFAR, because according to the former, the latter is the one in charge of setting the MSY. When I inquired from the BFAR, they again told me to go to another office, the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI). The problem is, one of the staff of NFRDI told me that they are still in the process of integrating the data. Ten years after the Code has become effective, they are still in the process of integrating the data.

If the DENR is finally able to set up the MSY, this would be the best gift that they could offer to our ailing oceans.