Article I: NATIONAL TERRITORY

 National Territory is defines as the entire archipelago: the land, water and air space within the
Philippines jurisdiction
 12 nautical miles is the Philippine territorial sea from the baseline
 200 nautical miles from the baseline is the extent of the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone
EEZ- special rights to explore and exploit natural resources including fish stocks, oils
and gas reserves.
UNCLOS- United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
 The Sulu Sultanate’s historical rights is the basis of the Philippines claim over Sabah.
The Philippines claim over Sabah solely hinges on the purported transfer of sovereignty
rights by the Sultan’s heirs to the Philippine government in April 1962. Then the acting
Secretary of Foreign Affairs Salvador P. Lopez accepted on behalf of the Republic the
cession and transfer of territory of North Borneo.
 Status of the Spratly Islands according to 1987 Philippine Constitution, Spratly Islands is a
dispute territory of the Philippines.
Dispute Territory – refers to a geographical area over which there is a disagreement
among two or more parties or countries regarding its sovereignty, control or ownership.
The disputes may arise due to various reasons such as historical claims, ethnic or cultural
difference, strategic importance, or access to natural resources like water, oil or minerals.
Integral Territory – the term “Integral part of the Philippines territory” refers to any
land, water or airspace that is under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of the Philippines as
recognized by its Constitution and other relevant law. This includes the archipelagic and
territorial waters, the contiguous zone, the economic zone, and the continental shelf, as
well as the land areas, islands, and islets that are part of the Philippine archipelago.
 Historical grounds, cultural grounds, legal grounds are the basis of the Philippines claim to
the disputed territories in the South China Sea.
The Philippines also asserts that its claim is supported by historical and cultural evidence.
It argues that the Scarborough Shoal and some of the Spratly Islands have been used by
Filipino fishermen and traders for the centuries, and that the Philippines has exercised
jurisdiction over the areas since the Spanish colonial era.
 Philippines policy towards foreign military bases in its territory, to allow the prohibition of the
establishment of foreign military bases.
 Regalian Doctrine – all lands not otherwise appearing to be clearly within private ownership are
presumed belong to the State. Hence, a positive act of the government is needed to declassify a
forest land into alienable or disposable land for agricultural or other purposes.
 What is the role of the Congress in the delineation of the Philippines territorial boundaries?
Delineation refers to the process of outlining of defining the boundaries or limits of
something, usually a physical or conceptual entity.