21 April 2008
On the rice crisis
The rice problem as we know is not national in nature nor is it regional (to Southeast Asia). It is global in nature. For the Senate to investigate the rice problem will have to confine itself to certain activities of Filipino corporations or nationals, for example: Are they hoarding? Are they manipulating? Is there a conspiracy in respect to trade? And so on. In effect, that would be a criminal investigation.
But if we are going to investigate the rice situation, that would necessarily be global in nature, and we simply do not have the faculties to conduct such an investigation.
Predictions that President Arroyo will be overthrown because of the rice crisis are not related to reality. If that is the case, then all other rulers in Southeast Asia will be overthrown as well.
On the baselines bill
The baselines bill is another mistake. In the first place, these people who have been so valuable in the media do not realize the profundity and the complexity of the baselines issue. I remember the very first article I wrote for the Philippine Law Journal of the University of the Philippines when I was taking my masters in the University of Michigan was on the archipelagic doctrine and that was the start of articles that my friends and I were writing at that time because it is very complex.
Akala nila basta magdrowing ka ng baselines, tapos na. And they included certain contested islands there. There are many complications there. The boundaries of the Philippines will become very much smaller if we declare it an archipelagic state under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea because the boundaries of the Philippines, as specified in the Treaty of Paris are
so much wider. So why should we be in a hurry to narrow down our own internal waters? If we join the rush to comply with the archipelagic baselines deadline—which is May next year—that will give to all foreign vessels the right of archipelagic sea lanes passage that has been overlooked by all these commentators on our baselines.
Right now, the waters among and between our islands belong to the Philippines. The moment you declare the Philippines as an archipelagic state, foreign vessels will have the right to pass in these waters between our islands without asking for our permission and the freedom to do whatever they want as long as they don’t get caught doing it.
My proposal is to convene a commission of experts. That is the problem with the Senate. This is a very highly technical subject, and everyone is just shooting his mouth off for a sound byte. You cannot do that with this very complicated legal issue.
The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea does not impose a compulsory duty for archipelagic states to draw their baselines because the convention states that “the State may draw”. It does not say “shall draw.” There is no penalty if you don’t declare your baselines.
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