National Territory of the Philippines (Art. I)

The National Territory of the Philippines is provided in Article 1 of the 1987 Constitution.

I. Constitutional provision for National Territory

Art. 1 of the 1987 Constitution provides for the National Territory of the Philippines which states the following:

ARTICLE I - National Territory

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 the internal waters of the Philippines.

Comparison from the Previous Constitutions of the Philippines

1935 Constitution

Article I, Section 1. -

The Philippines comprises all the territory ceded to the United States by the Treaty of Paris concluded between the United States and Spain on the tenth day of December, eighteen hundred and ninetyeight, the limits which are set forth in Article III of said treaty, together with all the islands embraced in the treaty concluded at Washington between the United States and Spain on the seventh day of November, nineteen hundred, and the treaty concluded between the United States and Great Britain on the second day of January, nineteen hundred and thirty, and all territory over which the present Government of the Philippine Islands exercises jurisdiction.

1973 Constitution

ARTICLE I, Section 1. - The National Territory -

The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and waters embraced therein, and all the other territories belonging to the Philippines by historic right or legal title, including the territorial sea, the air space, the subsoil, the sea-bed, the insular shelves, and the other submarine areas over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction. The waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago, irrespective of their breadth and dimensions, form part of the internal waters of the Philippines.

II. Laws regarding the National Territory

There are 3 laws enacted by the Philippine legislature regarding the national territory of the Philippines:

Republic Act No.:Date enacted:
RA 30461961
RA 54461968
RA 95222009

R.A. No. 3046

Republic Act (R.A.) No. 3046 was enacted in 1961 in accordance with Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone (UNCLOS I).

R.A. No. 5446

R.A. No. 5446 was enacted in 1968 for correcting typographical errors and reserving the drawing of baselines around Sabah in North Borneo.

P.D. No. 1596

Presidential Decree No. 1596 was issued on 11 June 1978 which claims the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG).

R.A. No. 9522

R.A. 9522 was enacted in 2009 in order to comply with UNCLOS III.

Sec. 2(a) of the Republic Act references P.D. 1596. regarding the Kalayaan Island Group.

RA No. 9522 shortened one baseline, optimized the location of some basepoints around the Philippine archipelago and classified adjacent territories, namely, the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) and the Scarborough Shoal, as "regimes of islands" whose islands generate their own applicable maritime zones. (Magallona v. Ermita, 2011)

III. International Treaties and Conventions on territory

1898 Treaty of Paris

The Treaty of Paris was made between the U.S.A. and Spain wherein Spain sold the Philippine Islands to the U.S.A for 20 million dollars. The territory ceded by the Spain to the U.S.A. is contained in Art. III of the Treaty.

1900 Treaty of Washington

The Treaty of Washington is a subsequent treaty between U.S.A. and Spain selling other islands lying outside the territorial lines stated in Art. III of the 1898 Treaty of Paris and particularly to the islands of Cagayan, Sulu, and Sibutu and their dependencies. The U.S.A. paid an additional $100,000.00 for the said islands.

1930 Convention between U.S.A. and Great Britain

The Convention between the U.S.A. and Great Britain delimits the boundary between North Borneo and Philippine islands.

UNCLOS I

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS I) was held in 1956 and which is a convention between different member-states codifying, among others, the sovereign right of States over their territorial sea. However, the breadth of the territorial sea was not determined.

UNCLOS II

The UNCLOS II was held in 1960 but there was no new agreements made.

UNLOS III

The UNCLOS II was held 1973 and ended in 1982.

The terms of UNCLOS III was ratified by the Congress of the Philippines on 27 February 1984.

IV. Coverage of National Territory

(Image from Magallona v. Ermita, G.R. No. 187167, August 16, 2011)

The above image shows a comparison between R.A. No. 5446 (Red outline) and R.A. 9522 (Blue outline); and the Exclusive Economic Zone (Green) under UNCLOS III and the national territory inherited from the Treaty of Paris.

The following is a table comparing R.A. No. 3046 and R.A. 9522 (Magallona v. Ermita, 2011):

Maritime AreaExtent of maritime area using RA 3046, as amended, taking into account the Treaty of Paris' delimitation (in square nautical miles)Extent of maritime area using RA 9522, taking into account UNCLOS III (in square nautical miles)
Internal or archipelagic waters166,858171,435
Territorial Sea274,13632,106
Exclusive Economic Zone0382,669
Total440,994586,210

From the above table provided, R.A. No. 9522 provides an increased maritime territory compared to the previous law.

V. Jurisprudence and cases regarding the National Territory

Magallona v. Ermita

The Magallona v. Ermita case assails the constitutionality of R.A. No. 9522.enacted in 2009. The petitioners asserted that the said Act decreased the national territory of the country. However, the Supreme Court dismissed the petition for lack of basis.

VI. Relevant Terminologies

Contiguous Zone

What is a Contiguous Zone?

A contiguous zone is an area where a State has jurisdiction to prevent and punish infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws and regulations within its territory or territorial sea.

The contiguous zone is measured 24 nautical miles (nm) from baselines from the baseline of the State (Article 33 (2))

Demarcation

What is Demarcation of national territory?

Demarcation is an act of setting the boundaries of a territory.

Exclusive Economic Zone

What is an Exclusive Economic Zone? The exclusive economic zone is an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea and used for exploiting its natural resources. The Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) has been provided in Part V, Art. 55 - 75 of the UNCLOS III.

It is measured 200 nautical miles from the baselines (Art. 57, UNCLOS III). A country has rights for exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing natural resources down to the seabed and its subsoil (Article 56).

Nautical Mile

What is a Nautical Mile? A Nautical Mile is a unit of length used in measuring territorial waters. It is defined as:

Unit of LengthEquivalent
Nautical Mile1
Meters1852
Feet6076 
Miles1.151

Regime of Islands

What is a Regime of Islands?

Art. 121 of the UNCLOS III Treat provides a definition of a regime of islands:

Article 121 - Regime of islands

  1. An island is a naturally formed area of land, surrounded by water, which is above water at high tide.
  2. Except as provided for in paragraph 3, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf of an island are determined in accordance with the provisions of this Convention applicable to other land territory.
  3. Rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.

Territorial Sea

What is a Territorial Sea?

The territorial sea of a State has been defined in Art. 2 of the UNCLOS III. It has a 12 nautical mile distance measured from the baseline. A State has full sovereignty over the territorial sea which is exercised subject to the Convention and to other rules of international law

Differences between Territorial Sea, Contiguous Zone, and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

Territorial SeaContiguous ZoneExclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
UNCLOS III
Provision
UNCLOS III, Part II, Sec. 1, Article 2UNCLOS III, Part II, Sec. 4, Article 33UNCLOS III, Part V, Article 55 - 75
Distance12 nautical miles from baselines (Article 3)24 NM from baselines
(Article 33)
200 NM from baselines (Article
57)
RightsFull sovereigntyPrevent and punish infringement of violations of customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary laws and regulations (Art. 33)Exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing natural resources down to the seabed and its subsoil (Article 56)

VII. References

[1] Magallona v. Ermita, G.R. No. 187167, August 16, 2011

[2] United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS I).

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