WE WILL start with the Preamble of the 1987 Constitution.
THE PREAMBLE
We, the Sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society and establish a Government that shall embody our ideals and inspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution.
“Preamble” in Filipino means Panimula or the beginning. In the Constitution, this is where we begin where we, as the Sovereign Filipino people, set out goals and give our mandate to those who govern us as we build a humane and just society, establish a government that embodies our ideals and aspirations, promotes the common good, conserves and develops our patrimony, and secures not only for ourselves but for our posterity, the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace.
Isn’t the Constitution a guarantee that all these fundamental laws be implemented? Then why have a Constitution at all, if we do not follow it?
We decry the violations of our Constitution by our leaders which call for the addition of a new chapter in this edition of Salvador Araneta’s Bayanikasan Constitution.
ARTICLE I, NATIONAL TERRITORY
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.
During the 1935 Constitutional Convention, of which Dr. Salvador Araneta was a member, he spoke about the concern of all the delegates regarding national territory. Their consensus was that we can neither enlarge it nor diminish it.
By claiming the Spratly Islands and the Philippine Seas, we are only claiming what is within our territory. Preserving national interest and national sovereignty does not mean that we are going to wage a war, in this case, over China. It simply means that we should take our territorial dispute to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). This is what former President Benigno Aquino III did in January 2013, when he brought the country’s claim to the PCA at The Hague, because there are other claimants like China, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia to the same territory.
The Filipino nation owns the air above, the waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago regardless of their breadth and dimensions; these form part of the internal waters of the Philippines as well as the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine areas. For example, no airplanes may land or even fly within our aerial territory without our permission. This is why we sell landing rights and other licenses to that end. No foreign fishermen can come and fish over our waters, as we also own the marine life, although Chinese fishermen encroach on our territory continually.
Is the Philippine government a hundred steps behind the enemy or is it trailing a million miles away? In a posting on the internet on April 23, 2015, the Business Mirror called our attention to the fact that Chinese illegal activities, whether they are their reclamation projects and/or illegal fishing, are causing damage to the marine eco-system and resources in the West Philippine Seas. The Business Mirror article also stated that National Scientist Dr. Edgardo D. Gomez had warned the nation through his detailed studies, that for countries around the West Philippine Seas, the economic losses total $108.9 million a year.
Another report comes from the front page of the Philippine Daily Inquirer of July 11, 2018. Our attention was focused on a photo and the lead teaser, “In Grave Peril.”³ The picture showed giant clams being harvested by Chinese fishermen and a collapse of the marine eco-system was imminent. This is a threat not only to the countries near the West Philippine Seas, but this will affect humanity in no time.
Has the Philippine government given up its sovereignty over our air space and even our landing fields? The latter encroachment on our territory is the landing of two Chinese military planes in Davao. Why refuel in the Philippines when Hong Kong is not too far away by air for any emergency need? This is just another suspicious story and how will this tale end? Will our government accept this “hook, line and sinker?” (To be continued/PN)
