HON. MICHAEL “MIKEE” L. ROMERO, Ph. D.
1-PACMAN Party-list
Assistant Majority Leader
Vice Chair, Youth & Sports Development and 2 other Committees
REP. MIKEE ROMERO ASKS PRESIDENT DUTERTE TO TASK THE DA, FISHERIES AUTHORITY TO CREATE STATE FIRM FOR PHILIPPINE RISE
Benham rise was renamed Philippine Rise via E.O. 25 of President Duterte on May 16, 2017
First, I take this opportunity to point out that some officials, news reports and social media posts have been using the name Benham Rise in recent weeks. On May 16, 2017 President Rodrigo Roa Duterte signed Executive Order No. 25 changing the name of the Benham Rise to the Philippine Rise.
I hope the public and the media will get used to using instead the name Philippine Rise to refer to that extended continental shelf of our country that is also within our exclusive economic zone, in the same way that name West Philippine Sea is being used.
To directly address the issue on the exploration and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) gains from the Philippine Rise, I, as Member of the House Committee on Aquaculture and Fisheries Resources, recommend to President Duterte the creation of a corporate subsidiary of the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (PFDA). Perhaps the state firm could be named Philippine Rise Exploration and Development Corporation. This state firm can serve as the corporate vehicle for international joint ventures and science grants.
The state firm could be created the same way that the Overseas Filipinos Bank was established by the Land Bank of the Philippines. All that is needed is a new executive order by President Duterte to set in motion all that are needed.
The new executive order can also create a special task force on the Philippine Rise to be jointly led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Agriculture. I hope the task force will include private sector representatives and experts from industry and civil society who are active in marine sciences, aquatic and marine industries, and international law. (END)
REFERENCES:
http://www.congress.gov.ph/legisdocs/basic_17/HB06297.pdfhttp://www.congress.gov.ph/legisdocs/first_17/CR00509.pdfhttp://pfda.gov.ph/http://pfda.gov.ph/transparency-seal/pfda-charterLinkback:
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