QuestionsQuestions (BFAR DA ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 01, SERIES OF 2004)
It is issued pursuant to Section 123 of RA 8550 (Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998) and Rule 123.2 of its IRR. It implements the constitutional/statutory policy of protecting people’s rights—especially marginal fisherfolk—through preferential use and integrated management of municipal waters, consistent with RA 8550’s declared objectives.
Management must be executed in an integrated manner and not based on political subdivisions of municipal waters, to facilitate treating contiguous resources as single resource systems. LGUs may group and coordinate, with Integrated Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Councils (IFARMCs) as venues for close collaboration.
Coverage includes streams, lakes, inland bodies of water, and tidal waters within the municipality not included in NIPAS protected areas, public forest/timber lands/forest reserves or fishery reserves; and marine waters between two lines drawn perpendicular to the general coastline from points where boundary lines touch the sea at low tide, and a third line parallel to the coastline 15 km from it. For opposite municipalities less than 30 km apart, the third line is equally distant from both shores.
It does not preclude special agencies or offices from exercising jurisdiction over municipal waters by virtue of special laws creating them (e.g., Laguna Lake Development Authority, Palawan Council for Sustainable Development), pursuant to Section 17 of RA 8550.
NAMRIA delineates/delimits boundaries on maps/charts and demarcates areas with at least seven fathoms depth as requested, prepares and provides proposed maps/technical descriptions before public hearing, approves revised materials after hearings, participates in hearings/consultations, revises based on inputs, verifies boundaries, certifies final maps/technical descriptions, and acts as repository of technical descriptions and original maps/charts.
LGUs must request NAMRIA, conduct public hearings/consultations, settle disputes with adjacent/opposite municipalities through appropriate bodies, and enact ordinances setting the exact location/boundary of municipal waters incorporating maps/charts and technical descriptions.
Requests may be made by (1) a city/municipality individually or jointly with adjacent affected LGUs via a Sangguniang resolution; (2) a province on behalf of coastal municipalities via a Sangguniang Panlalawigan resolution; or (3) an NGA on behalf of a city/municipality via a signed request letter with LGU conformity via resolutions. The request must include a copy of the legislation/proclamation and related data evidencing the creation/existence of the municipality/city.
Copies must be furnished to DENR CENRO and/or relevant DENR Regional Office, BFAR, any adjacent/opposite municipality affected, PNP-MARIG Regional Office, any special agency with jurisdiction over coastal waters that may be excluded, and affected private parties/sectors the LGU deems fit to notify.
If the coastline is not deeply indented and has no outlying/fringing islands, reefs, or rocks, the normal baseline is the low water line. The general coastline is determined by the normal baseline, and outer limits are a line parallel to the normal baseline 15 km therefrom.
Straight baselines are allowed when the coastline is deeply indented and/or there are outlying or fringing reefs or rocks, by connecting outermost points of the coastline with straight baselines of length not exceeding 30 km. Submerged features during high tide (reefs, rocks, cays, shoals, sandbars, etc.) cannot be used as basepoints and have no own coastlines.
If the general coastline at the common coastal terminal point is curved/irregular making perpendicular lines impossible, the lateral boundary may be determined either by: (1) simplified bisection (bisecting the angle formed by perpendicular lines drawn at the terminal point), or (2) equidistance line method based on baselines of both municipalities.
They are delimited using the median line or equidistance line between the general coastlines of the respective municipalities, as determined through the baselines approach in Section 5(B)(1).
The lateral and offshore boundaries are determined by the equidistance line method. Lateral boundaries usually end at a point common to three or more municipalities at the offshore boundary.
It is deemed final only after boundaries have been duly approved by the city/municipality through a final and executory ordinance embodying the same. Each boundary corner common to two adjacent or opposite municipalities must have exactly the same geographic position.
Where practicable, the seven (7) fathom depth curve within municipal waters shall be clearly indicated on the charts provided by NAMRIA.
If there is a marine reserve/sanctuary/special area under the exclusive jurisdiction of another entity that overlaps or falls within municipal waters, NAMRIA must obtain a clearance from that entity prior to including boundaries of such reserve/sanctuary/special area to effectively exclude it from computation of municipal waters, while local government manages the protected seascape under NIPAS mandates.
Objections must be made in writing via a resolution or official letter and presented during the public hearing. The dispute is resolved through the mechanisms provided by the Local Government Code and applicable laws. Amicable settlement is encouraged; if irreconcilable and based on proper technical application, issues go to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for decision under Sec. 118 of RA 7160 with NAMRIA technical support.
NAMRIA may delineate and determine temporary municipal water boundaries in the meantime without considering contested features, provided the affected municipalities agree, and subject to the outcome of the dispute as determined by the concerned forum.
When enacting the ordinance, no amendments shall be made to the maps, charts, or technical descriptions prepared and approved by NAMRIA; the LGU must incorporate them as an integral part of the ordinance.