The 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."

In Article 1 Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines provided that the national territory comprises of the Philippine archipelago and all the islands and waters embraced therein and all the territories over which the country has jurisdiction or sovereignty.

The definition and inclusion of the national territory in the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines is clear and well-presented compared to the previous drafts. In the 1935 constitution, it made mention of the Treaty of Paris as basis, which some delegates find as a reminder of the indignity of the past. In 1973 constitution, it stated that "all the other territories belonging to the Philippines by historic right or legal title."  The 1987 Constituion straightforwardly stated what was, is and will be included in the territory of the Philippines. Moreover, it has a strong and appropriate basis of territorial claims, which is the Archipelagic Doctrine. The Philippines is an archipelago for it is surrounded and separated by large bodies of water. The Archipelagic Doctrine gives the right to determine straight baselines wherein the internal seas inside the baselines are considered as under the jurisdiction of the said country. This doctrine supports the consideration of the Philippines and its thousands of islands and seas as a political unit due to reasons of law, history, geography and so on.

Furthermore, the Philippines did not follow the traditional boundary of 3 nautical miles limitation in the primary directions (north, west, east and south) because this is not the appropriate basis in determining the boundaries of the country. The Philippines is an archipelago and the seas are vast. Again, Archipelagic Doctrine is a good basis for it says that the basis of boundaries of an archipelago should be the straight lines connected by parts in the outer islands. Without the Archipelagic Doctrine, the waters found in between the separate islands of the Philippines might be considered as part of the international seas. In this case, foreigners have the privilege to enter these waters and exploit the resources. The Article 1 of the 1987 Constitution is therefore clear and specific.

However, one might question its effectivity and scope. A law was passed dividing the Philippines into three regions (Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao), each constituting an independent state except on matters of foreign relations, national defense and national taxation, which are vested in the central government. Article 1 is violated in the way that it divided Philippines into three separate states.

I absolutely liked the article for it is very beneficial not only to me but to every Filipino. Upon reading, one is now fully aware of what the country and the people in it own. It is important that we understand the extent of our territory in order to avoid possible arguments with nearby countries, to protect their territory from conquerors and intruders, and to take care of our territory and resources.