Phl maritime zones law to be sent to UNCLOS, says Tolentino

Senator Francis Tolentino on Wednesday bared the Philippine Maritime Zones Bill to be forwarded to the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, once enacted into law.

“After the approval of this law, hopefully, siguro dapat bago mag-Mahal na Araw, ay mai-submit natin sa (maybe before Holy Week, we will submit it to the) UNCLOS secretariat,” Tolentino said at a news forum.

The Senate Bill 2492, or the proposed "Philippine Maritime Zones Act of 2023 garnered 23 affirmative votes, zero negative votes, and no abstentions from the lawmakers in the upper chamber earlier this week.

Tolentino said the country will send the law to the UN body “so they will recognize the breadth and the extent, metes, and bounds of our maritime jurisdiction including our continental shelf and seabed."

Tolentino, who chairs the Senate Special Committee on Maritime and Admiralty Zones, said the measure also stated the country’s ownership of artificial islands constructed by any foreign nation within the Philippine exclusive economic zone.

“Iyong mga artificial islands na tinayo ng ibang bansa sa ating EEZ ay nanatiling ating pag-aari. Hindi po dahil sila iyong nagtayo doon sa Fiery Cross, Mischief Reef, sila po iyong nagtayo ng kung ano mang mga air strip ay kanila iyon. Atin pa rin iyon (The artificial islands built by other countries in our EEZ remain our property. Just because they are the ones who built it at Fiery Cross, Mischief Reef, they built the air strips, it means they own it. It's still ours),” he explained.

“They have possession but they don't have the ownership," he added.

Tolentino said the PMZA, once legislated, sets the country's archipelagic boundaries, internal waters, and EEZs over which the Philippine Government exercises sovereignty and jurisdiction.

SB 2492 likewise highlights the Philippine sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its EEZ in the West Philippine Sea and the Benham Rise now known as “Talampas ng Pilipinas.”

Tolentino said the measure is seen to protect the rights of Filipino fishermen over the vast resources of the WPS as well as the untapped energy resources in the area.

“[This will] serve as the cornerstone of our maritime policy, protecting our sovereignty and addressing our national security needs,” he added.

“Within the maritime zones law, we can forge more alliances with other countries, under a rules-based international order in compliance with UNCLOS,” he continued.