NATIONAL TERRITORY
state, which is the Republic of the Philippines.
What is the state according to the Montevideo
Convention?
A state is a person of international law.
Implication: meaning you have the
personality to come before international
tribunals and sue other states who are also
considered persons under the convention
Article 1 (under this convention) – provides
for the elements of a state
1. Person – permanent population
2. Territory – defined
3. Government
4. Sovereignty – capacity to enter into
relations with other states
Q: They have their own government, territory
and they are all females
A: Reproduction is necessary as part of the
population.
State (as defined in PH textbooks)
- a community of persons more or less
numerous, permanently occupying a definite
portion of territory, independent of external
control, and possessing an organized
government to which the great body of its
inhabitants render habitual obedience.
Province of North Cotabato
Bangsamoro Juridical Entity
Sate or expanded version of ARMM?
SC: it is a state. It is an associated state.
Therefore, the MOA-AD is unconstitutional
because our constitution only allows one
The concept of association under international
law is more manifested in the MOA-AD
under par. 4 considering people, territory and
governance.
“The relationship between the central
government and BJE shall be associative
characterized by shared authority and
responsibility..”
In international law: an association is a
relationship between 2 unequal states.
Notwithstanding that they are states of
unequal power, the contracting parties are
both states nonetheless.
We have one state who is more powerful
(principal) and the less powerful state
(associate).
What happens?
The associate state delegates some of the
sovereignty to the principal. Why? Because in
countries that were once colonized by more
powerful states, the latter does not let go of
that colony easily despite the independence of
the associate. They do not think that the
associate is ready hence, they rely on the
principal.
MOA-AD provisions which provides BJE as
an associative state
1. MOA-AD has the capacity into
economic relations with other states
2. The BJE can actually participate in
international meeting and events
3. The BJE delegates external defense to
the central government.
 4. BJE has the right to participate in
diplomatic missions
Article 1, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution
The national territory comprises the
Philippine archipelago, with all the islands
and waters embraced therein, and all other
territories over which the Philippines has
sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of its
terrestrial, fluvial and aerial domains,
including its territorial sea, the seabed, the
subsoil, the insular shelves, and other
submarine areas. The waters around,
between, and connecting the islands of the
archipelago, regardless of their breadth and
dimensions, form part of the internal waters
of the Philippines
1. Philippine archipelago, with all the
islands and waters embraced therein
- What is an archipelago? What
comprises the Philippine Archipelago?
What is the archipelagic doctrine?
ARCHIPELAGO, DEFINED
1. body of islands, surrounding
waters (around and between)
connecting these islands
2. wide body of water which is
studded with islands
1935 Constitution
- our understanding of an archipelago is
hinged on the 2nd definition
but virtue of UNCLOS III (Art. 46)
Archipelago is defined as a group of
islands including its interconnecting
waters.
What compromises Philippine
Archipelago?
1935 constitution did not use the word
Philippine archipelago.
1973 first time to use Philippine
Archipelago which was carried over in the
1987 Consti.
“The Philippine archipelago, with all the
islands and waters embraced therein..” is
exactly the same text used in the 1973
consti.
Reference for Philippine Archipelago:
a. Article 1, 1935 Constitution – “all
territory over which the present
government exercises jurisdiction”;
inclusion of batanes
b. Treaty of Paris – unclear about tSibutu,
Cagayan de Cebu, Turtle Islands, Mangsee
Islands
c. Treaty of Washington – covered the
islands of Sibutu
d. Treaty between US and Great Britain –
turtle islands and mangsee islands
Therefore, all Islands embraced by these
treaties are what compromise the
archipelago.
UNCLOS
-Group of islands surrounded by a body
of water and then created maritime zones.
ARCHIPELAGIC DOCTRINE
the waters around, between and
connecting the islands of the archipelago,
regardless of their breadth and
dimensions, form part therein of the
internal waters of the Philippines
Purpose: to treat our country as a single
unit; important to include this so that
there is no body of water within the
jurisdiction that can be considered as high
seas (which we do not have jurisdiction
over).
2. all other territories over which the
Philippines has sovereignty or
jurisdiction – Sabah, Spratlys,
Scarborough Shoal, Marianas and
Batanes (included because before
batanes was not part of the Philippines
by virtue of the archipelagic doctrine)
Sabah – Section 2, RA 5446; the
definition of the territorial sea around
the territory of Sabah, situated in
North Borneo, our which the
Philippines has acquired dominion and
sovereignty
Spratlys – Section 1, PD 1596; Section
2, RA 9522 “Regime of Islands” under
the Republic of the Philippines
consistent with Article 2 of UNCLOS
Scarborough Shoal – Section, RA 9522;
another baseline law, which the
Congress enacted for purposes for
compliance with UNCLOS
Marianas Islands
Batanes – part of the PH islands by
virtue of the UNCLOS
3. COMPONENTS OF THE
NATIONAL TERRITORY. Terrestrial
– all the land above the sea that belong
to the PH (source: 1986 con-con
records)
Fluvial – inland and landward waters
Aerial – air above land up until the
outer space
Territorial sea – 12 nautical miles from
baseline
Seabed – land that holds the sea
Subsoil – beneath surface soil and
seabed
insular shelves – directly under water
beyond territorial sea until the edge of
continental margin
4. ARCHIPELAGIC DOCTRINE. The
waters around, between, and
connecting the islands of the
archipelago, regardless of their breadth
and dimensions, form part of the
internal waters of the Philippines.
- Talks about the 1st.sentence. More
specific approach.
BASELINE AND MARITIME ZONES
Normal baseline – Article 5, UNCLOS III;
Except where otherwise provided in this
Convention, the normal baseline for
measuring the breadth of the territorial sea is
the low-water line along the coast as marked
on large-scale charts officially recognized by
the coastal state
Straight baselines – article 7, UNCLOS III, In
localities where the coastline is deeply
intended and cut into, or if there is a fringe of
islands along the coast in its immediate
vicinity, the method of straight baselines
joining appropriate points may be employed
in drawing the baseline from which the
breadth of the territorial sea is measured;
drawing the line from the outermost part of
the outermost part of the outermost island.
Article 47 of UNCLOS III – limit is 125
nautical miles of the straight line that you’ve
drawn
Why we follow the straight baseline?
Proof: all our baseline laws employ the
straight baseline method
BASELINE LAWS
RA 3046
RA 5446
Article 47 of UNCLOS III
1982 – we became a party to the UNCLOS
ARTICLE 47 OF UNCLOS III
1. Join the outermost points of the
outermost islands
2. When you join the outermost point of
the outermost islands, the ratio of the
water to the land should be 9:1
3. When you draw the baselines the
length should not exceed 125 nautical
miles
4. Drawing of such baseline should not
depart from any general configuration
of the Philippine archipelago
RA 5446
- provided all the guidelines but became
problematic because of UNCLOS III
hence, we passed
RA 9522 – present baseline law; third and so
far the last
-comply with UNCLOS III
Magallona v. Ermita
- RA 9522 is unconstitutional because
reduces our maritime territory
- It necessarily violated our concept of
Philippine Archipelago
Martime zones – we own it; no state can
dictate what we do there
EEZ - we only have sovereign rights there;
there is a regime of sharing among the
neighboring countries; you cannot exclusively
enjoy the benefit only that you have more or
less a say on how the other countries will use
it by virtue of your sovereign rights
(UNCLOS III); Philippines only has a
sovereign right over EEZ
Sovereignty – no other country can tell what
we are going to do; result of ownership of a
particular territory
Sovereign – you don’t own it fully
SC: The UNCLOS has nothing to do with the
acquisition or loss of territory. It is a
multilateral treaty regulating, among others,
sea-use rights over maritime zones.
Therefore, the UNCLOS would not resolve
our conflicting claims over Scarborough
Shoal, Spratlys and even Sabah.
Regime of islands – has a different treatment;
own maritime zones
Internal Water v. Archipelagic Water
Territorial sea – can invoke right of innocent
passage for as long as the passage is innocent
Internal water – perspective of our - Preventive measures are put so that it
Constitution will not have adversary threats to your
Archipelagic water – perspective of UNCLOS territory
III EEZ
- an area beyond an adjacent to the
territorial sea; should not exceed 200
Under UNCLOS III nautical miles from the baseline
- sovereign rights: you really have the
There is innocent passage in archipelagic choice WON you would want to share
water it and impose conditions as to how that
area will be utilized
Is there innocent passage in our internal Super-jacent water – water above the seabed
waters?

-There is innocent passage. However, in the

absence of municipal legislation for innocent
passage such right is customary under
international law.

Implication: it means that you have no other

choice as a state but to comply with that law
because it is customary

The right to innocent passage had been used

by other states before.

DOMESTIC JUDICIAL BODY

- our constitution over international law
will prevail

Territorial sea – adjacent belt of the sea; there

is a right of innocent passage under here

INNOCENT PASSAGE
- not prejudicial to the peace, good order
and security of the coastal state
Contiguous Zone
- not exceed beyond 24 nautical miles
from the baseline
- Sovereign rights