Republic of the Philippines

SUPREME COURT
Manila

JUAN DELA CRUZ, KAREN D. VILLA,

MICHAEL D. ANGELO, VIERNES N. SABADO,
LIZA D. MACUJA, JIMMY T. REYES,
and GLORIA N. AQUINO, collectively
referred to as CONCERNED CITIZENS G.R. No. 876543
OF VICTORIA Petition for Writ of
Petitioners, Kalikasan with
-versus- Temporary
Environmental
FLY RISE FISHING COMPANY (FRFC), Protection Order
MAYOR JOHN C. DE JESUS, in his capacity (TEPO)
as Mayor of Malta City,
and SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD
OF MALTA CITY
Respondents.
x-----------------------------------------x

PETITION FOR THE WRIT OF KALIKASAN

(With a Prayer for the Issuance of a Temporary
Environmental Protection Order)

Petitioners, through the undersigned counsel, and unto this

Honorable Court, respectfully state that:

NATURE OF THE PETITION

1. This is a petition for the issuance of the Writ of Kalikasan

with prayer for the issuance of a Temporary Environmental Protection
Order (TEPO) pursuant to Rule 7 of A.M. No. 09-6-8-SC, otherwise
known as the Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases, concerning as
it is the violation of the constitutional rights of the residents of the Malta
City to a balanced and healthful ecology.
 PARTIES

2. Petitioners Juan Dela Cruz, Karen D. Villa, Michael D.

Angelo, Viernes N. Sabado, Liza D. Macuja, Jimmy T. Reyes and Gloria
N. Aquino are all Filipinos, of legal age and residents of Malta City. They
are collectively referred to as the CONCERNED CITIZENS OF MALTA, an
informal aggrupation of residents of Malta City suing in representation of
others, including minors and generations yet unborn, to uphold and
protect the constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology. They
may be served with court processes at the office address of the
undersigned counsel.
3. Respondents FLY RISE FISHING COMPANY (FRFC) is a
domestic corporation created and organized pursuant to the laws of the
Republic of the Philippines with principal office address at 1350 U.N.
Avenue, Manila where it may be served with summons and other
processes of this Honorable Court.
4. Public respondent JOHN C. DE JESUS (hereinafter, Mayor
De Jesus) is of legal age, Filipino and with office address at the Office of
the Mayor, Malta City, Philippines, where he may be served with
summons and court processes.
5. Public respondent SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD OF
MALTA (hereinafter SP-Malta) is the local legislative body of the City of
Malta with powers and functions provided under the Local Government
Code. It may be served with summons and other court processes at the
City Hall, Malta City, Philippines.

FACTUAL ANTECENDENTS

6. Malta City is composed of several islands, to which, fishing is

one of the principal sources of livelihood. The respondent FRFC was
granted fishery rights by the City Council and has started harvesting fish
products on the waters of said city.
7. The petitioners are existing residents and inhabitants of
Malta City. Some of them have likewise established their respective
livelihood therein.
8. The fishery rights of the respondent FRFC grants them a
catch ceiling of 120 gross tons which was beyond the maximum catch
ceiling prescribed by law for large scale commercial fishing which is 90
gross tons.
9. Based on the study conducted by petitioners, as hereto
attached as Annex A, the continues harvesting of fish and other fish
products beyond the catch ceiling for a period of two (2) consecutive
years will result, more likely, in the drastic decrease of supply of such
fish products not only in Malta City but also the nearby cities of Orchard
and Jalan.

ARGUMENTS
I.
THE FISHERY RIGHTS OF THE RESPONDENT CORPORATION IS
ULTRA-VIRES AND POSES THREAT TO A HEALTHY AND
BALANCED ECOLOGY OF THE PETITIONERS.
II.
THE CONTINUED GRANTING OF FISHING RIGHTS TO FLY RISE
FISHING COMPANY POSES DANGER TO THE LIVES OF THE
RESIDENTS OF THE PRINCIPALLY AFFECTED CITIES.

DISCUSSION
I.
THE FISHERY RIGHTS OF THE RESPONDENT CORPORATION IS
ULTRA-VIRES AND POSES THREAT TO A HEALTHY AND
BALANCED ECOLOGY OF THE PETITIONERS.

10. The fishery rights of respondent is ultra-vires for having

violated the maximum catch ceiling provided by R.A. 8550, also known
as The Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998, which is only 90 gross tons
for large scale commercial fishing.
11. Scientific studies and research have shown several impacts
of excessive or overfishing.
12. Lee, M. and Safina, C. (1995). The Journal of Marine
Education. Current, 13, 5-9, noted the effect of overfishing to biological
diversity, thus: Heavy fishing pressure can change the genetic
characteristics of a population by selecting for or against certain
genetically heritable traits like size at first sexual maturity (Policansky,
1993). This can happen, for example, when the larger fish in a
population are selectively overexploited. Removing the larger fish over
time results in favoring the survival of smaller fish that mature at an
earlier-than-average age or smaller-than-average size. If heavy fishing
removes most fish early in their reproductive life, individuals that mature
younger or smaller than average are at an evolutionary advantage: the
fish that survive and do more of the reproducing (e.g., the smaller-at-
maturity ones) are able to pass on their genes to future generations. The
genetic variability of the population is changed from its former state to
now containing a larger proportion of individuals that are genetically
encoded to begin reproducing at a smaller size and/or younger age.
Fishing can in this way inadvertently exert a pressure to selectively breed
toward miniaturization or early maturation.
13. Overfishing also disrupts the ecosystem on which the
decrease in the fish and other aquatic products supply can cause a break
in the food chain. It could also lead to extinction of some species of
aquatic creatures.
II.
THE CONTINUED GRANT OF FISHING RIGHTS TO FLY RISE
FISHING COMPANY POSES DANGER TO THE LIVES AND/OR
HEALTH OF THE RESIDENTS OF MALTA AND OTHERS.

14. The continued fishing of FRFC in the waters of the city of

Malta poses danger to the lives of the residents due to the probable
impact of the decrease in the supply of fish and other aquatic products,
such that, the residents whose livelihood depends on fishing would lose
their source of income.
15. 50% to 60% of the City of Malta and the neighbouring cities
and towns rely on fishing as their food source. In the event of drastic
decrease in the supply of fish products, thousands of people will lose a
great deal of their food supply.
16. The fishing vessels of FRFC also causes pollution due to the
oil and liquid spills, chemical and solid discharged into the water. When
the fish consumes such things before being harvested, it poses a high
risk of food poisoning to anyone who consumes it.
 PRAYER

WHEREFORE, premises considered, petitioners respectfully pray

that this Honorable Supreme Court:
1. Issue, immediately upon filing this petition, a Temporary
Environmental Protection Order (TEPO) and or a Writ of Kalikasan,
ordering respondents and any person acting on their behalf to refrain
from large scale commercial fishing;
2. After a summary hearing, issue a Resolution, extending the
effectivity of the TEPO until the termination of this case; and
3. After due proceedings, a Decision be rendered making the
TEPO and/or Writ of Kalikasan permanent, directing respondents and
any person acting on their behalf, to cease and desist from operating on
a large scale commercial fishing in the City of Malta.

Other reliefs that are just and equitable under the premises are
also prayed for.

Quezon City for the City of Manila, 24 October 2013.

MARY JOYCE P. MAGGAY

PTR 1238567, 1/05/13, Prov. La Union
LIFETIME MEMBER NO. 01118, La Union
Scout Borromeo St., Bgy. South Triangle,
Diliman, Quezon City
Roll 98769, Page 740, Book XIX
MCLE Compliance IV 002017, 2/28/13
 VERIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )

QUEZON CITY ) S.S

WE:
a. JUAN DELA CRUZ, of legal age, married, and resident of
Malta City, Phippines with CTC no. 2345987 issued at Malta City on
January 20, 2013 and passport no. XX1234567 with expiry date Feb. 10,
2016 bearing my photograph and signature respectively;
b. KAREN D. VILLA, of legal age, single, and resident of Malta
City, Phippines with CTC no. 2345988 issued at Malta City on January
20, 2013 and passport no. EA7654321 with expiry date Mar. 21, 2015
bearing my photograph and signature respectively;
c. MICHAEL D. ANGELO, of legal age, married, and resident of
Malta City, Phippines with CTC no. 2345989 issued at Malta City on
January 20, 2013 and passport no. XX8908765 with expiry date Dec. 10,
2014 bearing my photograph and signature respectively;
d. VIERNES N. SABADO, of legal age, married, and resident of
Malta City, Phippines with CTC no. 2345990 issued at Malta City on
January 20, 2013 and passport no. DD9873456 with expiry date Feb.
16, 2017 bearing my photograph and signature respectively;
e. LIZA D. MACUJA, of legal age, single, and resident of Malta
City, Phippines with CTC no. 2345991 issued at Malta City on January
20, 2013 and passport no. BB7162534 with expiry date Dec. 10, 2013
bearing my photograph and signature respectively;
f. JIMMY T. REYES, of legal age, single, and resident of Malta
City, Phippines with CTC no. 2345992 issued at Malta City on January
20, 2013 and passport no. XX9607987 with expiry date Feb. 1, 2015
bearing my photograph and signature respectively;
g. GLORIA N. AQUINO, of legal age, married, and resident of
Malta City, Phippines with CTC no. 2345993 issued at Malta City on
January 20, 2013 and passport no. CC1029387 with expiry date Oct. 18,
2014 bearing my photograph and signature respectively;

all of us swearing in accordance to law, depose and state that:

 That we are the petitioners in the above-entitled case; That we
have caused the preparation of the above Petition and we have read the
same and knows the contents thereof; That the allegations contained
therein are true and correct of our own personal knowledge.

That we further certify that: (a) we have not theretofore commenced

any other action or proceeding or filed any claim involving the same
issues or matter in any court, tribunal, or quasi-judicial agency and, to
the best of our knowledge, no such action or proceeding is pending
therein; (c) if we should thereafter learn that the same or similar action
or proceeding has been filed or is pending before the Supreme Court,
Court of Appeals, or any other tribunal or quasi-judicial agency, I
undertake to report such fact within five (5) days therefrom to the court
or agency wherein the original pleading and sworn certification
contemplated herein have been filed.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we have hereunto set my hand this 24th

day of October 2013 at Quezon City, Philippines.

JUAN DELA CRUZ LIZA D. MACUJA

KAREN D. VILLA JIMMY T. REYES

MICHAEL D. ANGELO GLORIA N. AQUINO

VIERNES N. SABADO

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this 24th day of October

2013 at Quezon City, Philippines, by all the affiants whom I have
identified through their competent evidence of identity indicated under
their respective names and signatures above.

NOTARY PUBLIC