Photo Release

Tolentino defends the Philippine Maritime Zones bill: Sen. Francis “Tol” Tolentino, chairperson of the Senate Special Committee on Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones, welcomes questions from colleagues as he defends the proposed Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones Act during plenary session Monday, December 4, 2023. Asked why it was necessary to enact a maritime zone law, Tolentino gave at least three reasons: The Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones Act will enable the establishment of the metes and bounds of the Philippine maritime jurisdiction under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and other international law; In practical terms, the maritime zones law will set clear parameters for administrative and enforcement agencies to perform their functions in the field of securing Philippines’ maritime domain and protecting the country’s maritime resources; and a Maritime Zones Law will ensure that the Philippines asserts and exercises sovereign rights of the country over its legal 200-nautical mile continental shelf and lays the basis for the extended continental shelf. “The Maritime Zones Law is a long-awaited first step in laying this foundation in order to more effectively pursue our national security interest, strategy and policy in our sea area,” the senator said. (Joseph B. Vidal / Social Media Unit)