THE Maritime Zones Bill has passed the bicameral review, which defines, delineates, and establishes the Philippine archipelago’s territorial waters and continental shelf.

According to Sen. Francis “Tol” Tolentino, the bill’s primary author, the House of Representatives (HOR) adopted the Senate version with an amendment on the reciprocity provision.

Tolentino said the bicameral version of the bill is being circulated among the HOR members for signature, and the chairman of the House Panel has already inked the report.

The lawmaker said the bicameral report has to be ratified by both Houses of Congress.

“Then, the bill will be enrolled and transmitted to the President for signature. It becomes a law once signed by the President or upon the lapse of 30 days from transmittal (date of receipt by the office of the President) to the President,” Tolentino.

He said the Maritime Zones Bill follows the 1987 Constitution and international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

In the bill that passed the bicameral review, Tolentino said the Philippine archipelago’s maritime zones comprise internal waters, archipelagic waters, the territorial sea, the contiguous zone, the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and the continental shelf.

He added that all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction likewise have their respective maritime zones, as appropriate.

“Once the bill becomes the Maritime Zones Act after the President signed it into law, the Philippines shall exercise all other maritime rights and jurisdictions per UNCLOS, the 2016 South China Sea arbitral award, international law, and other pertinent laws and regulations of the Philippines,” Tolentino said.

He revealed that penal sanctions are included in the provisions that will be the basis of the penalty the Philippines will impose on entities violating the Maritime Zones Act.

Section 16 of the approved bicameral version states that any violation of the Philippines’ rights as provided under this Act shall be addressed and penalized through pertinent existing laws and regulations. In the absence thereof, any violation shall be subject to an administrative fine of not less than six hundred thousand US dollars (US$600,000.00) but not more than one million US dollars (US$1,000,000.00), or the equivalent in Philippine currency.

Tolentino said the Maritime Zones Act had been long overdue but still becomes more immediate now, especially since China continuously claiming almost all of the South China Sea, including the West Philippine Sea (WPS), with its nine-dash line and recently the 10-dash line that the United Nations arbitral ruling discredited.

He said with the Maritime Zones Act, the Philippine claims in the WPS will be strengthened and enhanced because it establishes the extent and limit of its territorial waters promulgated into law.