Host: Good day everyone! The topic of our discussion is the rights of the Filipinos on the West
Philippine Sea. We have with us today are Rhea Rachel Oabel, Angelique Talisic, and
Marian Gaurano. Please introduce yourself and give an introduction about our topic for
today.
Panel 1: Hello, I’m Rhea Rachel Oabel, I’m a Social Studies Teacher teaching World History.
West Philippines Sea is the sea on the Western side of the Philippines, 212 Nautical Mile from
our territorial baseline. That includes the territorial sea, and our exclusive economic zone. Its
boundary is the South China Sea. Which means that West Philippine Sea and South China
Sea are not one, and the same. They are two different bodies of water.
Panel 2: Hello, I’m Angelique Talisic, I’m a Social Studies Teacher teaching Contemporary
Issues. According to United Nations Conventions on Law of the Sea, which is an international
law, which applies to the bodies of water all around the world, the Philippines has the right
to explore, use, and manage the natural resources, whether living or non-living within our
exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea. We have the exclusive right to
construct, to authorize construction, and to control construction of structure within our
exclusive economic zone.
Panel 3: Hello, I’m Marian Gaurano, I’m a Grade 7 Science Teacher. 12% of the worlds
annual fish catch is from the West Philippines Sea and South China Sea. This is also the source
of livelihood of thousands of Filipino fishermen. The West Philippine Sea is also rich in natural
gas, which can be use as fuel. The West Philippine Sea is very important to all the Filipinos. It
is the source of life for millions of Filipinos and the answer to our long-time problem, which is
the source of energy for electricity.
Host: China said that it has historical claim over South China Sea including the West
Philippine Sea and the whole world appears to be believing in their historical narratives that
they own South China Sea since two thousand years ago. What is real and what is not from
this historical narrative?
Panel 1: China is a very old civilization that is why it’s very easy for them to make their own
people believe as well as the world that it is probably true. So Philippine representatives
during the South China Sea Arbitration make it appoint to clarify that issue once and for all,
and they did. We won on that issue. Borrowing the term use by retired Justice Antonio
Carpio, to say that China has historical claim over the South China Sea is the fake news of
the century. They do not have any map or historical evidence that can prove their claim.
Host: We won on that arbitration, but still many of the features in the West Philippines Sea is
occupied by China. One of the notable incidents is what they did to Panganiban Reef also
called Mischief Reef. What is the significance of that in incident?
Panel 2: That is only one of the many islands that China occupied. First and foremost, the
Philippines remains to be the one who has the sovereign rights over Mischief Reef, and we
must never give up on that. Right now, it has become an artificial island but originally it is a low-tide feature. It doesn’t have a territorial sea. It doesn’t have an exclusive economic
zone, and it is part of our continental shelves. The right to build structures over that rock
belongs to the Philippines.
Panel 3: Whenever China built infrastructure on those rocks, they caused permanent and
irreparable harm to the coral reef ecosystem. It is home to 34 percent of the world’s coral
reef. The south china sea is a birthplace and cradle of marine life
1. What is the purpose of __________________________________________________?
2. What would you do if ___________________________________________________?
3. What is the difference between _________________________________________?
4. Is it correct to ___________________________________________________________?
5. What can you do to ____________________________________________________?
6. Don’t you think it is better if ______________________________________________?