The government’s chief lawyer yesterday moved for the withdrawal of a petition in the Supreme Court (SC) seeking to compel the government to protect marine resources in the West Philippine Sea, saying 19 fishermen listed as petitioners had already backed out. In the continuation of oral arguments on the petition, Solicitor General Jose Calida manifested to the high court that the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) filed the petition without the express consent and knowledge of fishermen from Palawan and Zambales who were named petitioners in the case. The solicitor general submitted to the justices affidavits of the 19 fishermen manifesting their withdrawal as petitioners in the case filed by the IBP’s Andre Palacios and human rights lawyer and former senatorial candidate Chel Diokno.

Punay, E., & Lee-Brago, P. (2019, July 10). Fishermen withdraw from 'kalikasan' petition. The Philippine Star, pp. 1, 6.