Manila, July 3 -- Large commercial fishing vessels are still banned from municipal waters and, as such, are under the radar of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Negros Oriental, an official said Thursday.

BFAR-Negros Oriental chief Florencia Mepana told the Philippine News Agency that commercial fishing is still prohibited within the 15-km. municipal waters despite a Supreme Court ruling allowing this, relative to the case filed by the Mercidar Fishing Corp.

"The stand of BFAR is that only Mercidar is covered by the court ruling allowing commercial fishers inside the municipal waters. I have forwarded a copy of the BFAR's statement on this to the Capitol for dissemination," Mepana said.

Mercidar filed a case again...