QuestionsQuestions (OCD)
RA 9522 amends RA 3046 (as amended by RA 5446) to define and describe the archipelagic baselines of the Philippines, and to provide for related matters such as regimes of islands and deposition/registration of baseline data.
It amends Section 1 of RA 3046, as amended by Section 1 of RA 5446, by redefining and enumerating the specific archipelagic baseline basepoints with their WGS 84 coordinates and distances to the next basepoint.
They are the straight baseline lines connecting specified basepoints (as defined by law) from which the breadth of maritime zones (e.g., territorial sea) is measured; they are important because they determine how maritime zones are generated in the archipelagic context.
RA 9522 uses the World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS 84) coordinates for all listed basepoints.
It provides the technical legal description of the baseline system; the coordinates and distances ensure a precise and verifiable delineation of basepoints and segments.
The Kalayaan Island Group (as constituted under Presidential Decree No. 1596) and Bajo de Masinloc/Scarborough Shoal.
RA 9522 directs that the regime shall be determined consistently with Article 121 of the UNCLOS.
It affirms that the Republic of the Philippines has dominion, sovereignty, and jurisdiction over all portions of national territory as defined by the Constitution and applicable laws.
Yes. It mentions Republic Act No. 7160, the Local Government Code of 1991, as part of the body of applicable laws referenced for the affirmation of sovereignty and jurisdiction.
It requires that the Act, together with the geographic coordinates and the charts and maps indicating the baselines, be deposited and registered with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
The National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) must forthwith produce and publish charts and maps clearly representing the delineation of basepoints and baselines in the Act.
It provides that the amount necessary to carry out the provisions of the Act shall be provided through a supplemental budget or included in the General Appropriations Act for the year of enactment.
Under Section 7, the rest of the Act not affected by the declaration shall continue in full force and effect (separability/clause of non-impairment).
Section 8 states that RA 3046 (as amended by RA 5446) and all other laws, decrees, executive orders, rules, and issuances inconsistent with RA 9522 are amended or modified accordingly.
It takes effect fifteen (15) days after publication in the Official Gazette or in any two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
Because it shows how Philippine domestic law operationalizes UNCLOS principles—specifically Article 121 (islands vs. rocks/low-tide elevations)—by classifying these areas under a different baseline regime than the rest of the archipelago.