Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio said allowing Chinese fishermen to trawl in the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is unconstitutional. In a statement issued late Tuesday, Mr. Carpio said the Constitution mandates the state to protect the nation’s wealth in its EEZ for exclusive use of Filipinos. “This means that the Philippine Government cannot allow Chinese fishermen to fish in our EEZ in the West Philippine Sea. This also means that the ‘use and enjoyment’ of the fish in our EEZ is reserved exclusively to Filipinos,” he said. Article 12, Sec. 2 of the Constitution reads: “The State shall protect the nation’s marine wealth in its archipelagic waters, territorial sea, and exclusive economic zone, and reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens.”

Villegas, V. M. M. (2019, June 27). Carpio says allowing Chinese fishermen in EEZ unconstitutional. BusinessWorld, p. S1/12.