ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Bicam panel finalizes Maritime Zones Bill

Bicam panel finalizes Maritime Zones Bill

Published Jul 17, 2024 10:57 am

The bicameral conference committee approved on Wednesday, July 17, the final version of the Maritime Zones Bill.

viber_image_2024-07-17_13-35-49-833.jpg
Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino (Senate PRIB photo)

"Yung salient points ay sinama natin yung sa Palawan, sinama natin yung sa Philippine Rise. Tapos ni-reconcile natin yung provision ng internal waters at saka archipelagic waters which is legal and technical (The salient points is we included Palawan and Philippine Rise. Then we reconciled the provision on internal waters and archipelagic waters which is legal and technical)," Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino said in an interview.

"So for signing na rin 'yan ni Presidente kasi sinabi niya 'yon sa Singapore na kailangan i-approve (It's now up for signing of the President since he mentioned in Singapore that there's a need to approve it), he added.

Tolentino, who chairs the Senate Special Committee on Maritime and Admiralty Zones reiterated the importance of the bill's passage.

"Maliwanag 'yung karapatan natin kung saan 'yung ating boundary. Maliwanag 'yan na may batas tayo kung saan pwede maglayag, mangisda (This clears out our rights and where our boundaries lie. It's clear that we have a law where we can sail and go fishing)," he said.

Tolentino is the principal author and sponsor of the bill which seeks to declare the country's rights and entitlements over its maritime zones, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the historic 2016 Hague arbitral ruling which favored the Philippines.

The landmark bill, called the Philippine Maritime Zones Law (SBN 2492), is included in the priority measures of the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC).

It aims to declare the rights and entitlements of the Philippines over its zone and fully enforce maritime laws. Further, it seeks to protect the nation’s marine wealth in its archipelagic waters, territorial sea, and exclusive economic zone, and reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens.

The Philippine Maritime Zones Law implements the 2016 Arbitral Ruling, invalidating China’s claim to almost all of the South China Sea and overwhelmingly favoring the Philippines’ claim to the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the WPS.

The senator has also mentioned before that the signing of the Philippine Maritime Zones Law, would lead to the protection of fishing areas in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

In terms of enforcing this once it is enacted, Tolentino said it must be submitted first to the Secretary General of the United Nations, who will issue a notification to all the signatories of the UNCLOS and inform them of the Philippine Maritime Zones Law, with such provisions, that must be honored.

However, the senator said that the Philippines Maritime Zones Law cannot be called “immediately recognizable”.

Tolentino acknowledged that China will not recognize the Philippines Maritime Zones Law, but he said it has an obligation under international law.

Related Tags

Senator Francis Tolentino Philippine Maritime Zones Act Hague Ruling United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.