The Philippine Maritime Zones Bill has passed the bicameral review of the Senate and House of Representatives, Senator Francis Tolentino said Monday.

Tolentino, who authored the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, said the lower chamber has adopted the Senate version of the measure which defines, delineates, and establishes the Philippine archipelago's territorial waters and continental shelf.

The bicameral committee agreed to an amendment on the reciprocity provision of the measure, he said.

Tolentino noted that the bicameral version of the bill is now being circulated among the HOR members for signature. While the House Panel chairperson has already signed the bicameral report.

He added that the bicameral report is still subject to ratification by both Houses of Congress.

Afterward, the bill will be enrolled and transmitted to the President for signature.

It becomes a law once signed by the President or upon the lapse of 30 days from transmittal (date of receipt by the office of the President) to the President.

Tolentino stressed that the Philippine Maritime Zones Bill strictly adheres to the 1987 Constitution and international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The approved bicameral version of the bill states that the Philippine archipelago's maritime zones comprise internal waters, archipelagic waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and the continental shelf.

All other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction likewise have their respective maritime zones, as appropriate.

“Once the bill becomes the Maritime Zones Act after the President signed it into law, the Philippines shall exercise all other maritime rights and jurisdictions per UNCLOS, the 2016 South China Sea arbitral award, international law, and other pertinent laws and regulations of the Philippines,” Tolentino said.

Penal sanctions are included in the provisions of the bill and it will become the basis of the penalty the Philippines will impose on entities violating the Maritime Zones Act.

Section 16 of the approved bicameral version likewise states that “any violation of the Philippines' rights as provided under this Act shall be addressed and penalized through pertinent existing laws and regulations.”

In the absence thereof, any violation shall be subject to an administrative fine of not less than US$600,000 but not more than US$1,000,000 or the equivalent in Philippine currency.

“The Maritime Zones Act had been long overdue but still becomes more immediate now, especially since China continuously claiming almost all of the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea, with its nine-dash line and recently the 10-dash line that the United Nations arbitral ruling discredited,” Tolentino stressed.

In implementing the Maritime Zones Act, Tolentino said the country’s sovereign claims over WPS “will be strengthened and enhanced because it establishes the extent and limit of its territorial waters promulgated into law.”