Economic development, climate resilience, and environmental protection must advance together to safeguard the Philippines’ marine resources, Senator Loren Legarda said as the country observes Maritime and Archipelagic Nation Awareness Month (MANA Mo) this September.

Focusing on this year’s theme, “Karapatan sa Karagatan, Sama-sama Nating Alagaan” (Rights to the Oceans, Together We Nurture Them), Legarda emphasized that rights over national waters come with a collective responsibility to protect ecosystems that sustain local livelihoods and coastal defenses.

“Our rights to the sea come with responsibility,” Legarda said in Tagalog. “If we want the sea to continue feeding and sustaining us, we must also care for it.”

To harness the country’s marine potential sustainably, Legarda is pressing for the passage of Senate Bill No. 168, or the proposed Blue Economy Act, which she authored in the 20th Congress.

The measure aims to foster sustainable development across coastal and marine resources while creating job opportunities for communities reliant on the sea.

Legarda cited that healthy oceans serve as a natural barrier against climate risks, with coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass beds protecting shorelines from storm surges, erosion, and severe weather.

This year’s observance also coincides with a decade since the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award, which upheld Philippine sovereign rights and maritime entitlements under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Legarda highlighted that defending sovereign rights directly impacts local fisherfolk who rely on safe access to traditional fishing grounds in the West Philippine Sea.

She added that the arbitral ruling also documented environmental damage to regional coral reefs, demonstrating that defending territorial claims goes hand in hand with ecological protection.

“We have clear rights under international law, and we will continue to stand by them peacefully,” Legarda said. “For our fishermen, this means the right to sail safely and earn a living in waters we have the right to benefit from.”