---

MALACAÑAN PALACE
MANILA

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

[ EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 450, October 17, 1997 ]

ORDERING THE DISMANTLING OF ILLEGAL FISHPENS AND FISHCAGES WITHIN THE MUNICIPAL WATERS OF THE LINGAYEN GULF

WHEREAS, Presidential Proclamation No. 156 declared the Lingayen Gulf as an environmentally critical area;

WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 171 created the Lingayen Gulf Coastal Area Management Commission (LGCAMC) to coordinate all activities relative to the protection, rehabilitation, preservation, development and management of the Lingayen Gulf;

WHEREAS, to date, there are more than 3,000 fishpens and fishcages located in the rivers and municipal waters of the Lingayen Gulf;

WHEREAS, approximately ninety five percent (95%) of said fishpens and fishcages are operating without the necessary authority and permit from the concerned local government units;

WHEREAS, the existence and proliferation of these fishpens and fishcages have:

a) contributed to the pollution of the Lingayen Gulf and its river tributaries as a result of over stocking and excessive use of commercial feeds resulting to rampant occurrence of massive “fishkills” leading to multi-million peso damages in the fishery industry;

b) hampered the natural flow of rivers and obstructed free navigation;

c) tremendously reduced the fishing grounds for sustenance fishermen; and

d) polluted the water and consequently affected fishpond operations that caused multi-million peso damages in the fishpond industry.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL V. RAMOS, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:

Section 1. All fishpens and fishcages illegally constructed without permit from the LGU and/or BFAR within the municipal waters of the Lingayen Gulf, to include the Hundred Islands National Park (HINP), shall be dismantled and removed not later than thirty (30) days from the promulgation of this Executive Order. The concerned LGUs are prohibited from issuing permits/authority to operate fishpens and fishcages until such time that the Comprehensive Coastal Development Plan will be formulated and a Municipal/City Fishery Ordinance be enacted in accordance with Section 3.

Section 2. The Inter-Agency Task Force on Coastal Environment Protection (IATFCEP) of Region I in coordination with the Lingayen Gulf Coastal Area Management Commission (LGCAMC) and the Local Government Units (LGUs) shall dismantle the illegal fishpens and fishcages within the municipal waters and rivers of the Lingayen Gulf.

Section 3. A Comprehensive Coastal Development Plan (CCDP) shall be formulated by the concerned LGUs. The concerned LGUs should likewise enact a Municipal/City Fishery Ordinance based on the CCDP to regulate the operation of fishpens and fishcages.

Section 4. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) shall provide the initial operational fund requirement amounting to One Million Pesos (P1M). The Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) and the Department of National Defense (DND) shall provide One Million Pesos (P1M) each for the full implementation of this Order.

Section 5. This Executive Order shall take effect immediately and shall remain in full force until the above-stated tasks shall have been attained.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 17th day of October, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Seven.1a⍵⍴h!1

(Sgd.) FIDEL V. RAMOS
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) RUBEN D. TORRES
Executive Secretary

The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation

---