Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 22) — Sen. Francis Tolentino on Friday said the government should already pass the Maritime Zones law to establish the Philippines’ exclusive and sovereign rights over parts of the waters surrounding the country.
“UNCLOS is asking us likewise to have a domestic legislation on this and more than 132 countries signatory to UNCLOS already have their own maritime zone laws, tayo na lang ang wala (we are the only ones who do not have)…It’s about time, we are decades behind,” Tolentino told CNN Philippines’ The Source, referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The proposed Philippine Maritime Zones Act is being discussed at the Special Committee on Maritime and Admiralty Zones chaired by Tolentino. He said it will take at least four more hearings to pass this and clearly set the country’s maritime zones.
The House of Representatives, meanwhile, passed early this year its version of the proposed measure which is House Bill 7819.
Currently, Tolentino said the country only has the baseline law which is only the starting point.
“The baseline law deals with the baseline, ‘yung malapit sa coastal areas natin (those near our coastal areas)…but projecting outwards, projecting to the 200 (nautical miles) exclusive economic zone it’s part of the maritime zone law,” he explained.
Tolentino said the bill has to be signed first into a law before a more detailed Philippine map is generated. The senator said the process will involve the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) and international mapping agencies.
