Philippine Rise- shall be the official name of the Benham
Rise.
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| The Philippine Flag , seen here next to Sarcophyton soft coral one of the many different corals seen in Philippine Rise ( photo credit to OCEANA/UPLB) |
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed Execurtive Order No. 25
last May 16- the decree that officially
changes the name Benham Rise to Philippine Rise. The name change is geared in
further boasting our sovereign right and jurisdiction of that Philippine
territory in this part of the globe.
Executive Order No. 25, states that “the undersea feature
presently known as ‘Benham Rise’ in local and international maps and charts,
shall henceforth be referred to as the ‘Philippine Rise.’”
“In the exercise of its sovereign rights and jurisdiction,
the Philippines has the exclusive power to designate its submarine areas with
appropriate nomenclature for purposes of the national mapping system,” Pres.
Duterte said in the EO.
National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA)
was tasked by the President to indicate the name “Philippine Rise”, in lieu of
the name Benham Rise, in all official maps and charts of the Philippines.
The Department of Foreign Affairs was also instructed in
consultation with NAMRIS and other concerned agencies, by the President, to
transmit the appropriate notifications to all international organizations.
The Executive Order stated that:
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-Philippine Rise region as a 24-million hectare
area “located within the Philippine exclusive economic zone and continental
shelf, as well as the outer limits of the continental shelf in accordance with
the recommendations of the Commission on Limits of the Continental Shelf issued
on 12 April 2012.”
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“The Benham Rise Region is subject to the
sovereign rights and jurisdiction of the Philippines pursuant to relevant
provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, national legislation, the
Unclos (United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea), and applicable
international law,”
The President renamed the region following reports of
sightings of Chinese surveillance vessels in the region for three months in the
last quarter of 2016. Malacañang has sadi in the press release that the
President wanted the change the name to “emphasize the Philippine sovereign
rights and jurisdiction over the area”.
Philippine Rise
Early this month an exploratory trip was done at the
shallowest part of the area- “Kalipungawan” (loneliness) as called by the
fishermen from Catanduanes, headed by Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol and
a group of Filipino scientists which yielded positive results prompting the
Sec. Piñol to suggesting it as the country’s next food source.
The area is it is situated about 250 kilometers east of
Dinapigue, Isabela, has untapped natural resources and is said to be wider than
Luzon, Samar and Leyte combined.
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