QUEZON CITY— ANGKLA Cong. Jesulito A. Manalo will lead a Technical Working Group convened by the House Committee on Transportation, to conduct an in-depth investigation on the propriety of a Zambales ordinance imposing fees against transiting foreign vessels within the province’s territorial waters.  In relation to the ordinance, the local government secured the services of a private corporation to implement the pertinent Vessel Transit System.

The investigation was prompted by House Resolution 2321, filed by Cong. Manalo, as the representative of the maritime party of the Philippines. He called for an immediate investigation following the apprehension manifested by some members of the shipping sector on the alleged usurpation by the Province of functions otherwise delegated by law to the maritime administrative bodies authorized to implement the Vessels Traffic Services (VTS) System in the country.

Further, Cong Manalo expressed alarm on the ordinance’s seeming violation of Article 26 of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) and the principle on the right of innocent passage.

Article 26 of UNCLOS provides that no charge may be levied upon foreign ships by reason only of their passage through the territorial sea, and that charges may only be levied upon a transiting foreign ship if specific services were rendered to it.

During the hearing on the Resolution, House Committee on Transportation Chairperson Cong. Cesar Sarmiento lauded Cong. Manalo for raising this issue, recognizing his persistence in championing the concerns of the shipping industry. The committee heard the positions of various government agencies then present most of which are charged with the implementation of maritime policies. These agencies include Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

The  ANGKLA Party-list representative underscored that “[t]he investigation is necessary to enable the Philippines to have the most suitable regulatory framework for the maritime industry, aligned with existing international conventions and more responsive to the demands of international practices.”