Gov’t earmarks P.5 B for Phl Rise this year

The government has allocated half a billion pesos this year for various coastal and marine research programs, including those for the Philippine Rise (Benham Rise), Sen. Loren Legarda has said.

Legarda, chair of the Senate committee on finance, said Congress has allocated funds for the Benham Rise expedition since 2016.

She said P500 million was allocated for the Department of Environment and Natural ResourcesBiodiversity Management Bureau (DENR-BMB)’s Coastal and Marine Ecosystems Management Program (CMEMP) to fund research and biodiversity assessment nationwide.

Of the amount, P60 million was allocated in the DENR budget for the Philippine Rise—P30 million for geologic and offshore mapping under the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) and P30 million for scientific expedition and management of coastal habitat under the BMB, she said earlier this month.

“Foremost, I fully support the directive of the President to give priority to Filipino scientists and researchers in exploring and developing the natural resources in areas covered by our sovereign rights, including the Philippine Rise,” Legarda said.

This year’s allocation was higher than the P32 million given in 2017 for “assessment and baseline activities” in the Philippine Rise, which showed 100 percent coral cover in several sites.

In 2016, equipment and other programs for the resource-rich area were allocated P47 million.

Legarda noted the Department of Science and Technology has done exploration, mapping and assessment of deep water areas in the area from 2014-2016 with a total budget of P39.575 million.

“We await the consolidated results of these research activities from our government agencies. Based on the initial information we received, the area shows great potential in terms of energy, mineral and other biological marine resources that are vital to harnessing energy and food security in our country,” she said.

She said exploratory and development efforts in Benham Rise should be done in a sustainable manner starting with building an extensive inventory of marine resources.

She said such scoping activities will help the country determine the next steps and the resources needed to support further research and development efforts.

“These resources are being allocated to protect and preserve what is rightfully ours and for our future generations under the UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) and our laws,” she said.

In 2011, Legarda was part of the Philippine delegation that met with the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) in New York regarding the country’s territorial claim over the Philippine Rise.

In 2012, the CLCS ruled that under the UNCLOS, Benham Rise is located within the Philippine exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.