Vol. XXII, No. 135 [ BusinessWorld Online ]
Tuesday, February 10, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
BY BERNARD U. ALLAUIGAN, Reporter
Less-controversial Senate version adopted
A JOINT congressional panel yesterday approved a law defining the country’s maritime boundaries, recommending a scheme that would avoid a potential clash with claimant countries over disputed territories west of the Philippines.
Emerging after a three-hour closed-door meeting, lawmakers yesterday announced that the measure, essentially reflecting the regime of islands principle over the Spratly Islands as endorsed by the Senate, has been approved "in principle" with the style of the final version left to a technical working group to polish.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, also head of the Senate panel, and his counterpart House foreign relations committee chairman Cebu Rep. Antonio V. Cuenco (2nd district) said they would meet next week to sign the bicameral committee report. The signed report would be resent to the Senate and House of Representatives for ratification, and for signing into law by the President.
"We finished the bicameral conference round one and we agreed on the final text of the law that will emerge," Mr. Enrile said.
The Senate version placed the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) and the Scarborough Shoal under a regime of islands, while the House version enclosed the disputed territories in the main archipelago.
In agreeing to adopt the "regime of islands" setup, Messrs. Enrile and Cuenco said both panels adopted the House proposal to explicitly mention the words "of the Republic of the Philippines" in the provision on the disputed island, which would now read as "regime of islands under the Republic of the Philippines."
Under the regime of islands, which is recognized by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), each island has its own territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
Under the UNCLOS, the country is entitled to define a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles, contiguous zone of additional 12 nautical miles, exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles, and extended continental shelf of up to 350 nautical miles.
Congress is scrambling to pass a new baselines law before the May 13, 2009 deadline set by the UNCLOS, otherwise the Philippines and other archipelagic countries would lose claims over an extended continental shelf.
"We heard all sides, the pros and cons of the Senate and the House and we came to the conclusion that the best version is the one we approved which is a regime of islands under the Republic of the Philippines. That is our input," Mr. Cuenco told reporters.
Mr. Enrile said the final version would explicitly mention that KIG is part of Palawan province and the Scarborough Shoal is "traditionally known to us as Bajo de Masinloc" to strengthen the country’s claim over the islands.
Palawan Rep. Abraham Khalil B. Mitra proposed an amendment to the KIG "to make sure that [KIG] will be recognized under our territory" since the disputed islands are considered a municipality of the province.
KIG, aside from the Philippines, is also claimed in part or wholly by Brunei, China, Taiwan and Vietnam, while Scarborough Shoal is claimed by the Philippines, China and Taiwan.
Senators Enrile and Miriam Defensor-Santiago, chairman of the foreign relations committee, have warned that the country risks diplomatic protests from other state claimants had Congress insisted to include the contested territories under the main archipelago, noting the Philippines is party to several international declarations that promote a status quo among contesting parties.
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