Sen. Tolentino: Maritime Zones Act to fortify 2016 arbitral ruling

MANILA -- Senator Francis "Tol" Tolentino said on Saturday that the Maritime Zones Act will fortify not only the compliance of the Philippines with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), but also its 2016 arbitral ruling victory affirming claim on the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

In his weekly radio show on dzRH, Tolentino said: "Kasama sa batas ang hatol. Ang hatol na iyon na di na mababago pa ay kikilalanin na, matibay na lalo."

Sen. Tol stressed that currently, the Philippines is challenged with different justifications for each claim.

"Di gaya ngayon na hiwalay-- 'oh amin iyan dahil sa UNCLOS,' 'amin iyan dahil sa naipanalo namin na desisyon.' Ngayon, pinagsama-sama na natin iyon," Tolentino remarked.

The Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Maritime and Admiralty Zones, who sponsored the mentioned bill, is expecting the bill to be approved by January of next year.