Administration Sen. Francis Tolentino, moving to reaffirm Philippine sovereignty, asked Congress to pass an enabling law renaming Benham Rise as the “Philippine Rise” or “Talampas ng Pilipinas.”
Tolentino said early enactment into law of his Senate Bill 2235 will “underscore the country’s assertion of sovereign rights over the 13-million-hectare underwater plateau.”
In a news statement issued on Thursday, Tolentino asserted that renaming the Benham Rise to “Philippine Rise” or “Talampas ng Pilipinas” is a clear exercise of sovereignty, adding it is “aimed at protecting national interest.”
Tolentino added that Senate Bill 2235 intends to complement President Duterte’s Executive Order affirming sovereignty over Philippine Rise.
Tolentino added the remedial measure also aims to name 22 undersea features found in the area.
Moreover, it also seeks to mandate the use of the name “Philippine Rise” or “Talampas ng Pilipinas” and the names adopted in the bill for its undersea features in official maps, charts, and all other official documents.
In addition, the bill provides that all private institutions, organizations, and establishments organized under the laws of the Philippines or operating within the Philippines are also mandated to use the designations in all communications, announcements, and messages, both domestically and internationally.
Tolentino’s bill also underscored the country’s sovereign rights over the Philippine Rise, an underwater plateau about 2,000 to 5,000 meters deep located in Aurora. Article 77 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) provides that a coastal state has sovereign rights over its continental shelf for the purpose of exploration and exploiting its natural resources. No other state may exploit or undertake exploration activities in the Philippine Rise without express consent of the Philippines.
The administration lawmaker recalled that China had also previously named five undersea features in the Philippine Rise despite the declaration by the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (UNLCS) that it is part of the Philippines’s continental shelf.
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