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In a unanimous vote, the House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading the proposed Philippine Maritime Zones Act embodied in House Bill (HB) No.7819.

Deputy Speaker and Cebu 5th district Rep. Vincent Franco "Duke" Frasco, who presided over plenary session Monday, May 29, bared after nominal voting that the measure received 284 "yes" votes.

There were neither "no" votes nor abstentions to the bill, which says that maritime zones of the Philippines comprise the internal waters, archipelagic waters, territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and continental shelf.

In a statement, House Speaker Martin Romualdez said the bill "will provide flexibility in enacting laws pertinent to the rights and obligations that the Philippines can exercise over its maritime zone".

“Aside from this, the bill also provides sovereign rights over these maritime zones, thus establishing the Philippines' exclusive rights to explore and exploit living and nonliving resources found in these zones, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and other existing laws and treaties,” added Romualdez, Leyte's 1st district representative.

The measure requires all territories of the Philippines to generate their respective maritime zones in accordance with international law.

It also spells out the exercise of jurisdiction over these zones in connection with the rights and duties provided for in the UNCLOS.

It further states that the rights of the Philippines relative to its maritime zones and entitlements shall be exercised in accordance with the UNCLOS, and the awards rendered by the Arbitral Tribunal in Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) Case 23 No. 2013-19, in the matter of the South China Sea Arbitration between the Republic of the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China, handed down on July 12, 2016, at The Hague.

Some of the principal authors of the bill include Reps. Rufus Rodriguez, Maria Rachael Arenas, Francisco Benitez, and Francisco Paolo Ortega V.