SENATOR Francis “Tol” Tolentino, who is the sponsor and one of the principal authors of Senate Bill No. 2492 otherwise known as the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, hurdled the Second Reading of the bill at the Senate on Wednesday after an extensive interpellation and a series of individual amendments.

The said measure aims to declare the rights and entitlements of the Philippines over its maritime zones, including the underwater features for the enjoyment and cultivation by Filipinos.

Tolentino, who is also the chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Philippine Maritime and Admiralty Zones, has been shepherding the bill as it will make the Philippines comply with the United Nation Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in establishing the maritime zones.

Earlier, Sen. Tol mentioned that it is timely and necessary for the Philippines to have its own Maritime Zones Act because it “is not merely a legal obligation, but a paramount necessity for the Philippines’ national, economic, and environmental security.”

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