The rights of Filipino fishermen over the vast resources of the West Philippine Sea, as well as the untapped energy resources in the area will be protected once the Philippine Maritime Zones Act is passed into law.
The Senate passed on third and final reading Senate Bill number 2492.
This is a landmark piece of legislation sponsored by Sen. Francis Tolentino which establishes the Philippine Maritime Zones in compliance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 Arbitral Ruling.
Tolentino said the measure will serve as the cornerstone of our maritime policy, protecting our sovereignty and addresses our national security needs, according to Sen. Tolentino.
“Within the maritime zones law, we can forge more alliances with other countries, under a rules-based international order in compliance with UNCLOS,” added Tolentino, who said that the law is 30 years in the making.
It sets the archipelagic boundaries, the country’s internal waters and exclusive economic zones over which the Philippine government exercises sovereignty and jurisdiction. Under the measure, the Philippine sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its Exclusive Economic Zone in the West Philippine Sea are highlighted together with the Benham Rise now known as “Talampas ng Pilipinas.”
Regardless of what will happen to Bajo de Masinloc, West Philippine Sea and Benham Rise, it is already etched in history that the Philippine Maritime Zones Law is a symbol of freedom.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said a proposed measure is expected to strengthen the country’s claim over the West Philippine Sea
Gatchalian, a member of the Special Committee on Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zone, hopes the law would be enacted as soon as possible amid the continuing tensions over disputed waters in the WPS.
Over the weekend, the Chinese Coast Guard blocked near the Scarborough Shoal a Philippine vessel which was delivering fuel and aid to Filipino fishermen in the area.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said they had a similar encounter in the area a week earlier.
“This is an important piece of legislation that would strengthen our sovereign rights in the WPS, which was already established by our victory in the 2016 arbitral ruling,” said Gatchalian, who co-authored the proposed measure.
Once passed into law, this would clearly define the country’s maritime zones, harmonizing domestic laws on maritime territory with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Specifically, the establishment of the country’s maritime zones would fortify the geographical extent of the Philippines’ maritime domain.
