10/07/2026
MAGBASA, INTERESADO, AT MAPANURI. SA ATING KAALAMAN ๐๐๐
๐จ๐ก๐๐๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ก๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ข๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐ต๐ญ
As an archipelagic nation with 7,641 islands to date, defining the territorial extent of the Philippines is not as straightforward as defining boundaries on land.
Under the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago and all territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction.
The ๐จ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ก๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฎ (๐จ๐ก๐๐๐ข๐ฆ) provides the international legal framework that defines the country's maritime entitlements.
๐ด ๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐น๐ฎ๐ด๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ are the waters enclosed by the Philippines' archipelagic baselines, where the State exercises full sovereignty subject to rights recognized under international law.
๐ก ๐ง๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฎ extends up to 12 nautical miles from these baselines. Within this zone, the Philippines exercises sovereignty over the waters, seabed, subsoil, and the airspace above.
๐ต ๐๐
๐ฐ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ (๐๐๐ญ) extends up to 200 nautical miles, granting the Philippines sovereign rights to explore, conserve, develop, and manage living and non-living resources found in the waters, seabed, and subsoil.
This includes the vast expanse of the West Philippine Sea on the west and the Philippine (Benham) Rise on the east of Luzon.
๐ข The bounds of the ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฝ (๐๐๐) in the West Philippine Sea and its several islands, reefs, and cays in the Spratly Islands, were officially delineated through Presidential Decree No. 1596 (1978) and designated as a municipality of Palawan.
While overlapping claims exist in the area, the Philippines continues to administer several features within the KIG in accordance with its domestic laws and its rights under international law.
It is our shared duty to understand, value, and safeguard the seas and territories that define our archipelagic nation.
