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The construction of a sheltered port in Thithu (Pag-Asa) Island in the municipality of Kalayaan that started in 2018.
Philippine Information Agency / Palawan News via Wikipedia Commons
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will adopt local names for more than 100 features in the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) following an order issued by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Executive Order No. 111, signed on March 26, covers 131 maritime features in Kalayaan, Palawan, within the disputed South China Sea.
Malacañang said the measure would strengthen the administration and governance of the area, as well as support the country’s assertion of sovereign rights.
The National Maritime Council recommended the adoption of a standard set of Philippine names, saying this is necessary to ensure consistency in governance and official usage.
Many of the features are part of the Spratly Islands, a resource-rich region that has been the site of repeated maritime tensions, particularly between Philippine and Chinese vessels.
China claims nearly the entire South China Sea despite a 2016 international arbitral ruling that found no legal basis for its sweeping claims. Other claimants include Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.
The Philippines previously adopted a similar naming policy in 2012 under then-president Benigno Aquino III, when waters nearest the country’s western coast were officially designated as the West Philippine Sea.
Republic Act No. 12064, or the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, defines the country’s western maritime zones—including the Luzon Sea, Bajo de Masinloc and the KIG—as collectively forming the West Philippine Sea.
Under the latest order, the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority has been directed to update and publish official maps and charts reflecting the new names, which have yet to be released.
All government agencies, including state-run corporations and financial institutions, are required to use the standardized names in official communications and documents.
The directive also applies to the education sector, covering the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and state universities and colleges, which are tasked to integrate the names into textbooks, research and instructional materials.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila has no comment as of this writing.
