FROM WEST PHILIPPINE SEA, INTERNAL LAW TO K-12

NANETTE E. PASCUAL

The conflict in the West Philippine Sea has given the gravity to the Araling Panlipunan teacher to search for references in order to enlighten the learners regarding on the special economic zone and our claim to the said territory, the statutes that fortify our claim in the West Philippine Sea, the Presidential Decree No. 1599, promulgated on 11 June 1978, has established the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines which” shall extend to a distance of two hundred nautical miles beyond and from the baselines from which the territorial sea is measured”.

The decree defines the following rights over the EEZ in Section 2, thus:

Sovereign rights for the purpose of exploration and exploitation, conservation and management of the natural resources, whether living or non-living, both renewable, of the seabed, including the subsoil and the super adjacent waters, and with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the resources of the resources of the zone, such as the production of energy from the water, currents and winds; exclusive rights and jurisdiction with respect to the establishment and utilization of artificial islands, off-shore terminals, installations and structures, the preservation of the marine environment, including the prevention and control of pollution and scientific research; and

Such other rights as are recognized by international law or state practice The Decree specifies prohibited acts in regard to the EEZ, for which it provide penalties.

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The author is Teacher III at Diosdado Macapagal National High School, Floridablanca