The government is working to update the Philippine map highlighting the maritime entitlements and sovereign rights in the exclusive economic zone of the country, according to National Security Council Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya.

"This is something that we have been working on already. We hope to be able to make an announcement very soon…we are seriously considering it and we already have something in the works," Malaya said in a recent interview with CNN Philippines' The Source aired Tuesday.

The updating of the Philippines is still undergoing an approval process, he added.

Malaya assured that the country's new map would conform to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the 2016 Arbitral Award, which invalidated China's "expansive claims" in the South China Sea, covering parts of the West Philippine Sea.

The map may also reflect the Philippine Rise, he added, noting that it is the extended continental shelf on the eastern side of the country.

The Philippine Rise was formerly called the Benham Rise with a 13-million-hectare underwater plateau near Aurora, housing a good source of natural gas and other resources.

Meanwhile, the newly created Special Committee on Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones, presided by Senator Francis Tolention as the panel chairperson, convened for an organizational meeting on Thursday for the first time.

The chamber's new panel, which was created through the approval of Senate Resolution 76, tackled several measures regarding the establishment of Philippine maritime zones.

"The committee comes in the wake of tensions in the West Philippine Sea and heightened concerns of increasing prices of food and the recent announcements of the rise in electricity prices," Tolentino said.

"It is timely then that the Senate of the Philippines provides the necessary support for our fellow workers in the government and the executive branch in order to better secure the benefits of the vast Philippine maritime zones, including our territorial sea.. and the large, exclusive economic zone," he added.

Other panel members are Senators Sherwin Gatchalian, Ronald 'Bato' de la Rosa, Robin Padilla, Christopher Lawrence 'Bong' Go, Juan Edgardo 'Sonny' Angara, and Risa Hontiveros.

The Philippine senators earlier condemned China's move to release its updated standard map, showing 10 dashes that form a U shape—extending its claim nearly the entire South China Sea—through Taiwan and India's northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin region.

This also overlaps with the Philippine exclusive economic zones, as well as those claims of Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

Hence, the Senate's special panel on maritime and admiralty zones is aiming to craft a Philippine map that will counter China's 10-dash line claims.

"We are trying to craft our own map. This is a response to the t-dash line so we can't finish this in one hearing," Tolentino said.

Maritime law expert Jay Batongbacal also welcomed the move "particularly if it will publicize the full extent of our maritime domain in accordance with the 2016 South China Sea Arbitration Award."

Moreover, Senator Robinhood Padilla expressed support for the nine pending Senate bills that would establish the Philippine maritime zones over the 200 nautical mile EEZ and continental shelf.

"If it becomes law, it will provide the necessary flexibility in the adoption of subsequent laws appropriate to the country's rights, policies, and obligations in maritime zones," Padilla said in Filipino.