Bayan Muna to SC: Resolve 10-yr-old joint exploration deal in WPS

Supreme Court of the Philippines in Manila. INQUIRER PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA

Bayan Muna on Wednesday prodded the Supreme Court to finally rule on its petition to nullify a 2005 joint exploration agreement between the Philippines, China and Vietnam in the West Philippine Sea in the hope of preventing a similar deal with China under the Duterte administration.

The group filed the petition in 2008 asking the High Court to nullify the three-country Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) for allegedly violating the Constitution.

Bayan Muna, led by its chair Neri Colmenares, said the JMSU was detrimental to national interest and a similar undertaking by the current government will be a mistake.

“The JMSU treacherously offered 142,886 square kilometers of the West Philippine Sea, including 24,000 sq. km. of areas that indisputably belong to the Philippines and not contested by China.  China became aggressive after the JMSU because it managed to pinpoint the exact location of natural gas and oil reserves in the area,” said Colmenares, who served as counsel in the 2008 petition.

“The Philippines, on the other hand, were given blurred images and vague data despite the JMSU provision that all information gathered should be equally shared. Tuso ang gobyerno ng Tsina, bakit magtitiwala tayong mga Pilipino dito? Dapat pigilan ito,” he added.

Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio himself has urged the government to explore the West Philippine Sea, particularly Reed (Recto) Bank. He warned of dire consequences if the Philippines failed to find a replacement for the Malampaya gas field, which he said could run out in 10 years.

“If we do not find a replacement for Malampaya, we will have 10 to 12 hours of rotating brownouts in Luzon… factories will close, schools will close, and it will devastate the economy,” Carpio said.

However, China, which is also claiming Reed Bank, has been blocking Manila’s efforts to explore the area believed rich in oil and gas.

READ: Gov’t urged to explore Reed Bank gas field

On Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018, the Philippines and China signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for joint oil and gas exploration and development in the South China Sea, which some believe includes areas claimed by both countries.

Colmenares said with the current agreement, the President might have given China a legal foothold to strengthen their position.

“We are apprehensive that the new joint exploration deal with China may be unconstitutional and might bury the Philippines in debt to the very country that has rapaciously built islands and occupied our seas in defiance of our sovereign rights in the WPS,” Colmenares said.

“Duterte’s new deal with China will most likely go the way of the 2005 joint exploration deal signed by Pres. Arroyo in exchange for loans to fund overpriced and corruption ridden projects like the NBN-ZTE deal and the Northrail project,” he added.

“We urge the Supreme Court to resolve our 10-year old Petition and declare the JMSU and other similar joint exploration deals unconstitutional and save the future generation of Filipinos from being deprived of the resources that could help in developing this country.” /cbb