While international law does not recognize the country’s sovereignty over the Recto Bank, the Constitution views it as part of the national territory, Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said Sunday, adding that where there is a conflict, the Charter should prevail over international laws.
“Under international law, the Philippines has sovereignty over its territorial sea [within 12 nautical miles from the baseline], and jurisdiction over its EEZ [beyond 12 nautical miles up to 200 nautical miles]. International law does not recognize sovereignty beyond the 12-nautical mile territorial sea,” Carpio said.
Instead, the United Nations Convention on Laws of the Sea speaks only of “sovereign rights” or limited entitlements to explore, exploit, conserve and manage natural resources in the country’s EEZ.
The sovereign rights, Carpio agreed, do not confer sovereignty.
But the 1987 Constitution holds a different view, he said.
“Under our Constitution, our national territory includes our EEZ because the Constitution says our national territory includes submarine areas [EEZ] over which the Philippines has jurisdiction. It defines our national territory to include ‘other submarine areas’ over which the Philippines has ‘sovereignty OR jurisdiction,” he added.
Carpio said the Supreme Court has provided guidance in resolving such an issue even as it has not ruled on any specific case involving the Recto Bank.
“The rule is, as repeatedly held by the Supreme Court, in case of conflict between our Constitution and international law, our Constitution will prevail and this is what our government officials must follow,” he said.
He said the government could avoid this conflict by classifying the national territory into two: those over which the Philippines has jurisdiction, and those over which it has jurisdiction.
“In any case, the Philippines must defend both types of national territory because that is the mandate of the Constitution,” Carpio said.
“Just because we do not have sovereignty, but only sovereign rights, in our EEZ does not mean we should not protect our EEZ. Sovereign rights are priceless too, that is why the Constitution directs the state to protect its marine wealth in its EEZ,” Carpio said.
Carpio said the Palace’s decision to allow Chinese fishermen to trawl in Recto Bank violates the 1987 Constitution.
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Recto Bank, he said, is part of the country’s EEZ where Filipinos should enjoy the exclusive sovereign right to fish.
He cited Section 2, Article XII of the Charter, which states that: “The State shall protect the nation’s marine wealth in its archipelagic waters, territorial sea, and exclusive economic zone, and reserve its use and enjoyment exclusively to Filipino citizens.”
“The Philippines has exclusive sovereign right to exploit all the fish, oil, gas and other mineral resources in its Exclusive Economic Zone. This sovereign right belongs to the Filipino people, and no government official can waive this sovereign right of the Filipino people without their consent,” Carpio said.
He also cited the 2016 ruling of the United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration, which declared Recto Bank as part of the country’s EEZ.
Carpio suggested that the government should instead tap the Armed Forces to protect Recto Bank and other parts of its EEZ from poaching foreign fishermen.
The controversy on Recto Bank stemmed from the sinking of a Filipino fishing boat last June 9 after a Chinese vessel hit it, leaving 22 Filipino fishermen adrift in open water.
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Carpio said the government must demand compensation from China over the sinking of the fishing boat.
Earlier this year, the magistrate called on the government to protest Chinese incursion in Pag-asa Island and Sandy Cay, which he said are both within the country’s territorial waters.
Meanwhile, Senator Panfilo Lacson said the investigation by the Philippine Coast Guard and the Maritime Industry Authority was insufficient because they did not conduct any forensic investigation at the scene of the incident.
From such forensics, they could have determined the strength of impact and whether the Filipino boat was directly hit or merely sideswiped, as the government now says.
But Lacson said the bigger issue was that the Chinese crew of the Yuemaobinyu 42212 abandoned the Filipino fishermen at sea after the FB Gem-Vir 1 sank.
Lacson admitted he was dismayed with the reactions of President Rodrigo Duterte, who called the incident a “little maritime accident” because no one died.
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