DELINEATION OF THE PHILIPPINE

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DELINEATION OF THE PHILIPPINE CONTINENTAL
SHELF Jason Jude Villegas Department of Energy,
Philippines
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• OUTLINE
• INTRODUCTION
• II. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
• III. DATA REQUIREMENTS
• IV. CONSTRAINTS
• V. CONCLUSION

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• INTRODUCTION
• -enforcement of UNCLOS on 16 November 1994 gave
• the Philippines ten years to gather evidence and
  
• establish the scientific basis of delineating
  the
• Philippine Continental Shelf
• scientific evidence require proper documentation
• -prohibitively expensive to run surveys
• -committees are formed to address UNCLOS issues
• -slow progress due to internal political and
  economic
• constraints

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ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE Government Structure
Related to Continental Shelf Issues Cabinet
Committee on Maritime and Ocean
Affairs (CABCOM-MOA) -composed of Department
Secretaries / Undersecretaries of almost all of
the major Departments of the government
bureaucracy -main objective was to formulate
policies and strategies regarding maritime and
ocean concerns in agreement with the provisions
of UNCLOS
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CABCOM was supported by a Technical Committee on
Maritime and Ocean Affairs (TechCom-MOA) -respon
sible for the research and technical work
-assist legislators in drafting bills/laws
relevant to maritime and ocean affairs Both
Committees were abolished in 2001 -all functions
were transferred to the Department of Foreign
Affairs (DFA) -expanded the functions and
responsibilities of the Maritime and Ocean
Affairs Center (MOAC) of the DFA
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Among the expanded function of DFA-MOAC is
to -undertake research,data gathering,
information acquisition, and preparation for any
negotiation or other modes of dispute
settlement with other countries in matters
concerning the delineation/delimitation of
territorial and maritime boundaries, fisheries,
energy and mineral exploration, and exploitation
in the ocean, or other agreements relating to
the conservation, exploration, exploitation,
protection, development, and/ or management of
marine resources
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• Studies for the Delineation of the Outer Limits
  of the
• Philippine Continental Shelf (PCS)
• -a project organized by former TechCom-MOA
  members
• to
• Facilitate the delineation, documentation and
  legitimi-
• zation of the PCS.
• 2. Develop a core group of experts.
• 3. Put together the legal arguments and technical
  evidences
• in forms that are acceptable.
• 4. Generate data and information about the
  resources in
• the PCS.

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The Project Team members are -Department of
Energy (DOE) -Mines and Geosciences Bureau
(MGB) -National Mapping and Resource Information
Authority (NAMRIA) -University of the
Philippines-National Institute of Geological
Sciences (UP-NIGS) -University of the
Philippines Law Center-Institute of
International Legal Studies (UPLC-IILS) The
project look forward to achieve objectives by 2004
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Project Strategy -create properly authorized
group -secure funding -assess available/existing
data -secure, acquire, process and interpret
existing data -identification and delegation of
specific tasks -application of appurtenance
test -acquire/generate new and additional
data -prepare submission -negotiate overlapping
maritime boundaries -information dissemination
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Project Accomplishments -conduct of
briefings -roundtable discussions -regular-plannin
g meetings -signing of Memorandum of Agreement
(MOA) -initial inventory of existing data The
Project also initiated the proposal of creating a
National Committee on the Continental
Shelf -which shall be responsible for the
delineation, documentation, and legitimization
of the Philippine claim
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Proposed Committee Structure Chair Vice
President Vice Chair for Legal, Diplomatic, and
Political Aspect Department of Foreign
Affairs Vice Chair for Scientific and Technical
Aspect Department of Environment and
Natural Resources Members Department of
Energy Department of National Defense National
Security Council Department of Science and
Technology University of the Philippines
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The proposed National Committee will be supported
by A Technical Working Group (TWG) -tasked to
gather, generate, process, and assess
bathymetrical, geophysical, and geological data
as well as prepare the legal and political
arguments. -target for submission to UN-CLCS is
2007 However, the draft EO creating the National
Committee is yet to be signed by the President.
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DATA REQUIREMENTS Available Data Data
Gap Information and Data Sharing, Storage,
Security And Confidentiality on the draft
EO -ensure effective exchange of
data -exclusivity and confidentiality of data
among Committee members, specifically to those
persons actively involved -use of other party
require written permission -DENR to be the final
repository, but DOE, MGB, NAMRIA, and UP-NIGS
shall also maintain copies
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CONSTRAINTS -availability of funds -scarcity of
experts on the technical and scientific
guidelines -data quality -workstation
requirements
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In Conclusion -Philippines is very serious in
studying and delineating its continental
shelf -concerned government agencies exerting
efforts to accomplish the task -unfortunate
that there are no funds available to finance the
task
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SALAMAT !!