MANILA - Former Foreign Affairs Secretary and current Philippine Ambassador to United Kingdom Teodoro Locsin, Jr. expressed support for and urged the early crafting and formal submission of the Philippines’ archipelagic sea lanes to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) once a law establishing them has been enacted.
 
Speaking before a hearing of the special committee on Philippine maritime and admiralty zones led by Senator Francis Tolentino, Locsin said Philippine ASLs should include normal passage routes for international navigation and overflight and innocent passage.
 
The Philippines is also expected to show it has the means of monitoring and protecting maritime safety, an investment, he says, that is long overdue.
 
“Our ASLs must include normal passage routes for international navigation and overflight and of course innocent passage. We shall be required to show sufficient capability to put in place mechanisms that enhance maritime safety and give convincing proof that our proposals will enhance the positive impact of orderly vessel traffic, of the marine environment, fisheries, resources and fishing grounds. But this is good because we should be pouring resources into addressing those concerns anyway and we have the president who believes it,” Locsin said.
 
He added the process at the London-based IMO may not be quick but urged the Philippines to submit a comprehensive submission.
 
The proposed measure seeks to prescribe the rights and obligations of foreign ships and aircraft exercising the right of archipelagic sea lanes passage while empowering the president to designate the coordinates for the ASLs.
 
Locsin said should there be a need for technical adjustments to comply with requirements of the IMO, it can be easily done without returning to Congress for amendments.
 
A technical working group will be formed to “fine tune” and consolidate the bills on the subject following the committee’s approval of the proposed measure for the plenary’s consideration.
 
Meanwhile, asked by Tolentino if the recent reported use of cyanide to destroy Bajo de Masinloc can be considered environmental terrorism as it deprives Filipino fisherman of their catch, Locsin said: “I think if it is environmental, I suppose recklessness on the part of the polluter, would, in an exaggerated way, but not inaccurate, be terrorism of the sort. It’s the recklessness of allowing cyanide to be spilled. Yes, it falls within that purview.”