The Philippines needs to establish a Cabinet-level organization to explore and harness the potential of the country’s vast aquatic resources under the Blue Economy.
“We need to put up the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to help our marginalized fisherfolk. With a department that is solely focused on managing the country’s aquatic resources, we can not only address the problems but also explore the potentials and opportunities and at the same time manage our natural resources in a sustainable way,” said Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) President Edicion dela Torre in a television interview during the launch of “The Way Forward,” which aired on Wednesday in CNN Philippines.
Lawyer Karen Jimeno, the host of the show, said “The Way Forward” hopes to jumpstart the start of the conversation together with the experts and thought leaders from the science, academe and the legal field to form the ideas so that we can move forward.
PRRM is the producer of the show. It will have three episodes featuring experts and thought leaders discussing several issues on the Blue Economy. The talk show airs every Wednesday.
De la Torre said PRRM decided to produce “The Way Forward” as the government tends to put emphasis on land-based natural resources of the country. To balance the neglect imparted on the country’s fisherfolk, he said PRRM decided to launch the show as he also said it was part of the organization’s self criticism as it did not give the same support to the fisheries sector compared to farmers.
He stressed the government needs to recognize the potential of the country’s resources in the Blue Economy. Despite the country’s huge potential, de la Torre stressed there is no clear-cut policy to serve as a guide for the Blue Economy.
“We are the largest fishing nation in the world. The Philippines is a Maritime and Archipelagic Nation [MANA]. This is our MANA. We must defend it,” dela Torre explained.
Lawyer Francis Jardeleza, a retired associate justice of the Supreme Court and one of the guests of the pilot episode, underscored the importance of the value of the arbitral award and the United Nations Convention of the Law of Sea (UNCLOS) to enable the country to harness its rich natural resources for the Blue Economy.
In the interview, he quashed the nine-dash line presented by China, pointing out that it does not exist.
“The EEZ is the economic zone. It was agreed upon by the countries that first met to form the treaty that is now called the UNCLOS. The EEZ is an invention of the UNCLOS. So they say we give each country 200 nautical miles from the outer parts to make it simple,” Jardeleza explained.
“Sovereignty is like to put it in simple terms. We are sovereign over Luzon because Luzon is our territory. So we have full civil, political control, the Philippines over Luzon. A sovereign right is over the area outside of the territory, and then you have 200 nautical miles outwards the sea. We have the right to exploit the fish and the right to exploit the underground minerals,” Jardeleza added.
He assured the fisherfolk that their fellow Filipinos are ready to help them to apprehend the poachers and make it difficult for them to get out on bail. “If you ask me, I would wish it to be declared a heinous crime,” he pointed out.