Articl

e INATIONAL TERRITORY

Section 1, Article 1 of the 1987 Constitution

The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and waters embraced therein, and all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial, fluvial and aerial domains, including its territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine areas. The waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions, form part of internal waters of the Philippines.

Necessity of constitutional provision on National Territory

1. Binding force of such provision under international law.A state has the power to try, hear and decide cases throughout the extent of its territory.

2. Value of provision defining our national territory.

If there is a territorial dispute it should be settled according to the international law.

It is important to know so that we and the other nations would know the boundaries of our country.

3. Acquisition of other territories.Even though the bounds of our national territory is already written in the law, this does not prevent the Philippines from acquiring new territories by means of purchase, exchange, and such.

National Territory of the Philippines comprises of:1. The Philippine archipelago with all the islands and waters embraced therein;

2. All other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction.

3. The terrestrial, fluvial and aerial domains including the territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine areas thereof; and

4. The internal waters.

Archipelago

Derived from the Greek word pelagos meaning “sea.”

A sea or part of a sea containing many islands.

Our country is comprised of the sea and all its islands which is considered to be one single unit.

In other words, it includes both sea and islands which geographically may be considered as an independent whole.

Other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or

jurisdiction

According to the 1973 constitution, “all the other territories belonging to the Philippines by historic right

or legal”

1. Philippine claim to SabahSabah is the northern part of Borneo.

Coastline of 800 to 900 milesSouth China Sea in the West and North

Sulu Sea in the NortheastCelebes Sea in the EastIt is 1,143km from Manila and 1678 km from Kuala Lumpur.

The Sultan of Sulu was granted the territory of Sabah as a prize for helping The Sultan of Brunei against his

enemies and from then on that part of Borneo is recognized as part of the Sultan of Sulu’s sovereignty.

But in 1878, Baron Von Overbeck, a German representative of the British North Borneo Co. and his

partner Alfred Dent, a British representative of the British North Borneo Co. leased the territory known

as “Sabah.”

Britain took Sabah on July 10, 1946 as part of its crown territories and then made the land part of the

Federation of Malaysia. The Philippines maintained that the contract with Overdeck and Dent was for lease

but the United Kingdom insisted it was for cession or transfer of ownership.

The Philippines broke diplomatic relations with Malaysia after the federation have included “Sabah.”

At that time, the current Sultan of Sulu have given the Philippine government the authority to pursue the

claim legally in international courts.

In 1972, the Marcos administration revived the claim; but, the “Jabidah Massacre”

incident shelved it once more.

The Sulu Sultanate, in spite of it being located in Mindanao, is NOT the same as saying it is under the rule of the Philippine

government. It is, in fact, an independent Muslim state, which historically has acquired territories in and around the Sulu Sea,

including the island of Sabah. When Malaysia got its independence from the British, the British company also

"surrendered" Sabah to Malaysia. The claim of the Sultan of Sulu would have more legal bearing if the Philippines recognized the

Sulu Sultanate. As a republic, the Philippine constitution does not recognize royalties. Also no country recognizes the Sultanate of

Sulu. Sabah will always be, politically speaking, ruled by Malaysia. Its ownership, however, will always remain with the heirs of the Sultanate. Philippines might not ever get to claim

Sabah as its rightful territory.

2. Philippine claim to Spratley Island. The Spratly Islands group consists of a large number of banks, reefs, cays and islands stretching from a point. The Spratlies or some part thereof has been variously claimed by China (both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China), Viet-Nam, France, Japan, the Philippines, and, also Malaysia.

In 1956, a Filipino navigator named Tomas Cloma issued a "Proclamation to the whole World" asserting ownership by discovery and occupation over all the

territory, "33 islands, sands cays, sands bars and coral reefs and fishing grounds in the Spratlies covering an

area of 64,976 square nautical miles." This claim provoked statements of protest against the

Philippines by the People's Republic of China and the Republic· of Viet-Nam.

The legal bases of the demand were as follows: ( 1) The Philippines has legal title to the island group as a

consequence of the occupation by Tomas Cloma (2) the presence of the Chinese forces in Itu Aba constituted a threat to the security of the Philippines; (3) the Chinese

occupation of some islands in the Spratly group constituted de facto trusteeship on behalf of the World

War II allies which precluded the gamsonning of the islands without the allies' consent; and (4) the Spratly

group is within the archipelagic territory claimed by the Philippines.

In 1974, an official spokesman of the Philippine government announced that the Philippines had garrisoned five of the islands within the group. At present, the Philippines have possession of seven

islands. A number of Filipino nationals have settled in these islands, and a local government has been

organized in one of them.

On June 11, 1978, President Marcos issued Presidential Decree No. 1596 declaring most19 of the islands, cays,

shoals and reefs as belonging to the Philippines and forming an integral part of Philippine territory. It named

the area claimed "Kalayaan Island Group," which is a Filipinized version of the name Tomas Cloma gave his discovery: "Freedom land." The group of islands was

integrated as a municipality of the province of Palawan.

Philippine island closest to the incorporated cluster decree cited a number of bases for the claim to title, namely: (1) the area is part of the continental margin of the Philippine archipelago; (2) the islands do not belong to any state, but

by reason of history, indispensable need, and effective occupation and control established in accordance with

international law, should now be deemed subject to the sovereignty of the Philippines; and (3) claims by other states

over the area had lapse by reason of abandonment and cannot prevail over that of the Philippines on legal,

historical and equitable grounds.

Currently the Philippines is occupying nine features (seven

islands, three reefs):

Features

Pagasa Island (Thitu Island)

Likas Island (West York Island)

Parola Island (Northeast Cay)

Lawak Island (Nanshan Island)

Kota Island (Loaita Island)

Patag Island (Flat Island)

Panata Island (Lankiam Cay)

Rizal Reef (Commodore Reef)

Balagtas Reef (Irving Reef)

Ayungin Reef (Second Thomas Reef)

Details

37.2 ha. (2nd largest), pag-asa means hope

18.6 ha. (3rd largest), likas means natural or evacuate

12.7 ha. (5th largest), parola means lighthouse

7.93 ha. (8th largest), lawak means vastness

6.45 ha. (10th largest), kuta means fortress

0.57 ha. (14th largest), patag means flat

0.44 ha. (15th largest and the smallest, panatâ means vow

Rizal is named after Dr. José P. Rizal, the national hero of the

Philippines

Balagtas is named after Francisco Balagtas, a famous Filipino

poet

Ayungin is Leiopotherapon plumbeus, a Philippine-endemic fish

species

2. Future claims by the Philippines to other areas.

The phrase “all the other territories belonging to the Philippines by historic right or legal title.” Found in 1973 constitution was omitted in the present charter.

Other areas included in the Philippine archipelago.

The Philippine territory consists of its terrestrial, fluvial, and aerial domains. Included in its fluvial domains, in addition to the external waters, are:

1. Territorial sea.

2. The seabed 3. The subsoil

4. Insular shelves 5. Other submarine areas

Three-fold division of navigable waters.

From the standpoint of international law, the waters of the earth are divided into:

1. Inland or internal waters 2. Territorial sea (Supra)3. High or open seas

All other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty - includes any territory that presently belongs or might in the future belong to the Philippines through any of the accepted

international modes of acquiring territory.

Archipelagic PrincipleTwo elements: 1. The definition of internal waters

(supra); 2. The straight baseline method of delineating the territorial sea

Important distances with respect to the waters around the Philippines-Territorial Sea 12 nautical miles (n.m.)-Contiguous Zone 12 n.m. from the edge of the territorial sea-Exclusive Economic Zone 200 n.m. from the baseline

Territorial Sea

The belt of the sea located between the coast and internal waters of the coastal state on the one

hand, and the high seas on the other, extending up to 12 nautical miles from the low water mark.

Contiguous Zone Extends up to 12 nautical miles from the territorial

sea. Although not part of the territory, the coastal State may exercise jurisdiction

to prevent infringement of customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws.

Exclusive Economic Zone The state in the EEZ exercises jurisdiction with regard to:1. the establishment and use of artificial islands, installations, and structures;2. marine scientific research;3. the protection and preservation of marine environment;

The Philippine Position

1. Fatal effect application of 12 mile rule upon territorial integrity of the Philippines – To apply to the

three-mile rule to the Philippines, with every island having its own territorial sea, would have a fatal effect

upon the territorial integrity of the Philippines. It would mean the dismemberment of the archipelago with the Sibuyan sea separating the Visayas, and the Mindanao Strait and the Sulu isolating Palawan from

the rest of the archipelago.

These and other areas of waters would cease to be Philippine waters; they would become international

waters or high seas, and fishing vessels from all nations can enter to get fish and other living resources of the sea

which nature and Divine Providence intended for the Filipinos. Furthermore, warships of even unfriendly

nations could enter these waters and stay there with perfect legal right to do so. At the same time, we would

lose a large part of our territory on both sides of the archipelago, towards the China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

2. The Philippines, a single nation and a united state - More than seven thousand islands comprise the

Philippines ruled by one whole unitary government, bound by a common heritage, beholden to the same tradition, pursuing the same ideals, interdependent

and united politically, economically and socially as one nation.

3. Archipelago principle fully recognized bu UN Law of the Sea Convention - The archipelago principle and the exclusive economic zone rights are now

fully recognized in the U.N. Law of the Sea Convention. It was approved by the interim Batasang Pambansa on February 27, 1984.

THANK YOU!!Alyssa PalmadaLorenzo Osorio

Aleia Cai1ASN2