Rightfully ours

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor NANETTE L. GUADALQUIVER Busines Editor CEDELF P. TUPAS Sports Editor (On Leave) RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

The waters surrounding the archipelago that is the Philippines are arguably among the richest in the planet, from the fertile fishing grounds that continue to be exploited by Philippine fishermen as well as those from neighboring countries, to the untapped mineral riches that are speculated to be a boon to the country that gets to harvest these resources.

However, on May 2009, if the Philippines, through its legislators, fail to establish that part of our territory by passing the needed laws to file a claim to our Extended Continental Shelf areas as provided under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which governs archipelagic baselines, our country could lose by default all those riches that the sea has to offer that should rightfully be ours.  Up to now, the Philippines has not yet drawn its baselines and delineated its boundaries, which the UNCLOS requires from affected states before that deadline.

If our country misses that deadline, those areas will be lost to the Philippines, becoming either part of the international seabed area, or could even be awarded to neighboring states that are contesting jurisdiction over them, which would most likely be the case with the Kalayaan Island Group, which includes the famous Spratly Islands.

If the Philippines loses these precious territories and the resources that go with them because of our lawmakers’ failure to act  timely, the resulting economic losses will make the $130 million kickback demanded by  corrupt government officials involved in the NBN-ZTE scandal look like a drop in the bucket.  Let us hope that our legislators still remember what a deadline means and that they finish this important task before it is too late.*