Senator Cynthia Villar was recognized by the Department of Agriculture for her role in the enactment of the law against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. During the first command conference of the Philippines committee against IUUF at the Philippines international convention center last Monday, Villar was the recognized " for her pivotal role in enactment or republic act 10654, which is the country's legal backbone in the fight against IUUF". Villar as chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Food principally sponsored the bill which also resulted in the lifting of the yellow tag on Philippine fish imports. If not immediately addressed, the yellow tag would have caused a ban on the Philippines to export fish products to Europe, one of the country’s largest markets.

Ramos-Araneta, M. (2018, December 24). Campaign against illegal fishing earns citation for Villar. Manila Standard, p. A3.