Bill pushing for WPS protection gains support

ABILL for the environmental protection and preservation of the West Philippine Sea (WPS) has been gaining ground among key government agencies.

Palawan Third District Rep. Edward Hagedorn said he has met with officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-biodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), and Department of National Defense (DND) who voiced their interest for the passage of the bill.

House Bill No. 6373 aims to declare all low-tide elevations and hightide features, and an area of three nautical miles around the Kalayaan Island Group and Scarborough Shoal as a Marine Protected Area.

This amid heightened tensions in the WPS where in a Chinese coastguard blocked a Filipino fishing vessel.

“I thank the DENR, DILG, DND, and all the other experts who have engaged me in discussion and have shown genuine interest in protecting our environment. The discussions made during the meetings are positive and we have found that our views are aligned,” Hagedorn said.

“The invaluable insights of these government officials will all help in shaping the bill into something that will strengthen the protection and preservation of the atolls, coral reefs, and other vital marine resources in the Kalayaan Island Group and Scarborough Shoal. Indeed, this is a cause that we should unite for,” he added.

Rep. Eddie Villanueva has also expressed his full support for the bill, calling it an “important and timely initiative that could provide a common ground and shared interest for all contending states.”

Meanwhile, the bill is set to be deliberated upon in Congress on January 25.

Hagedorn also thanked House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez for prioritizing the hearing of HB 6373.

The bill cited Republic Act No. 11038 or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018 and the Arbitral Ruling in seeking to declare the said areas as a Marine Protected Area.

In its explanatory note, it cited a 2012 study by Rudolf de Groot, et al, which stated that coral reefs are our “single most valuable ecosystem.”

“A hectare, or about 2.5 acres, of reef can produce a potential value of approximately $350,000 a year. The coral reefs in the Spratlys, which serve as the breeding ground of fish in the South China Sea, comprise 34 percent of the world’s total coral reefs, despite the South China Sea occupying only 2.5 percent of world’s total ocean and sea surface,” it read.

“As such, the South China Sea is one of the richest marine areas in theworld, which is home to diverse marine ecosystems with over 3,000 species of fish and 600 species of coral reef,” it added.