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. 

Today My Life Begins

June 17, 2013.

The most-awaited day finally came! Sobrang excited kong pumasok nito. 3:30AM palang, gumising na ko: naligo, kumain, nagpatuyo ng buhok, and iba pang seremonya ng isang babae. Lol. 5am, umalis na ko dito sa bahay. Si mama kasi mapilit, ipinasabay ako sa dating schoolmate ko sa Alma Mater ko (Cielito Zamora High School), si kuya Mark Fuentes, an upperclassman of AB Literature. Sobrang nakakahiyaaaaaaaa! Yeah, hiyang hiya ako. I was making up scenarios in my head na magiging boring or tahimik yung entire moment na magkasama kami. But he proved me wrong, dinaldal nya ako kaya ayon naging comfortable din ako little by little. He's my crush, back in my second year, pero he's not aware. 

So, sumakay na kami ng jeep. May nakasalubong kaming classmate niya ata, kaya tatlo na kaming magkasama. Nagulat lang ako kasi biglang nag-para si kuya Mark tapos bumaba sya ng jeep, mauna na raw ako. May nakalimutan pala siya. Naawa ako kasi mala-late na siya nun. :)

Pagdating ko sa SM Fairview, sumakay agad ako ng bus na Baclaran since dadaan din yun ng Cubao ibabaw. 5:30 na non. Grabe, 6am na nasa Fairview parin ako. Wagas na wagas yung traffic, parang hindi umuusad. 6:30, Commonwealth palang. 7:20, Kamuning palang. In short, LATE NA LATE NA LATE AKO. Habang naglalakad ako sa Teresa, may nilapitan akong babae kasi napansin ko yung uniform niya which is uniform ng Psychology. I asked her if she could accompany me in our room, good thing she said yes.

Pagdating sa West wing, 6th floor room 18..

7:30 am ang first class ko, 8:30 na ako nakapasok. Bukod sa traffic, naligaw ako. Lumagpas ako ng Altura, ay sos. 

*pasok room*

Ako: Goodmorning po ma'am.

Prof: Iha halika nga dito.

A: (kabado) po?

P: Anong oras ang time natin?

A: 7:30 po.

P: Ba't late ka? Babagsak ka sa subject ko pag ganyan. Taga-san ka ba? (medyo galit)

A: Ma'am, taga-Caloocan po..

P: (biglang nagbago yung mood) CALOOCAN? Ay sus! Mag-LRT ka iha. Kawawa ka naman. Next time agahan mo ang alis. Oh sige na hindi ako galit, maupo kana at ibaba mo na yang pasan-pasan mong bag.

Yeah, PERKS OF LIVING FAR AWAY. HAHAHAHA.Tuwang tuwa ako kasi nakaligtas ako dun. :) Umupo ako dun sa pinakadulo, sa tabi ni Frances. Blessing in disguise narin yun kasi malapit ako "sakanya." Ehem. And, napansin ako ng blockmates ko. Nakilala nila at namukhaan ako. Dahil late ako, wala akong gaanong naabutan sa first subject kaya konting oras lang yung tinagal ni ma'am dun. As soon as she leaves the room, may mga upperclassmen na pumasok sa room and they began introducing themselves and announcing eveeeeeeeerything about PUPPSA. 

While the upperclassmen were announcing..

Frances: Jess, kanina ko pang napapansin na tingin ng tingin sayo si *censored.*

Ako: Talaga? Kanina nga tagal nyang nakatingin.. medyo awkward. Idk. May dumi ba ko sa mukha?

Afterwards.. My new friends and I decided to try out at Peer. Okay naman yung peer, except for stage 2 wherein nakapartner ko yung isang blockmate ko na lalake na medyo.. hmm.. Haha. What's awkward is, the scene. Liligawan niya ako and kailangan mapasagot niya ako sa harap ng aking NANAY at ATE.

*GLIMPSE OF THE SCENE*

Siya:...Nang makita kita, nalove at first sight na ako. Pumayag kana please?

Ako: Bigyan mo muna ako ng tatlong dahilan para payagn kita. *pakipot mode on*

S: Kasi loyal ako. Kasi meron akong lakas ng loob para ligawan ka sa harap ng pamilya mo. Higit sa lahat.. kasi mahal kita at ikaw lang. 

A: *nganga*

Yeah goosebumpppps!!! Hahahaha. Lol. Inaasar kami nung peer na magdate na kami ni scene-mate. LOOOOOOOL. Anyway, nagproceed na kame sa stage 3. Dito naman binigyan ako ng situation wherein magde-decide ako. The situation is, I'll be having an exam that will save me from failing at my major subject (which SUPPOSEDLY is failed) at the same time, I am the most important person in a seminar. 

*glimpse*

Ako: Kapag yung seminar pinili ko, sira ang buhay ko. yung 2 decades na pag-aaral ko, another 3 decades of better living ang kapalit..

Kuya: Uh-huh, that's right.

A: Alright. I'll choose the exam.

K: Good choice, Jessmirah, good choice. Very good! Tama ka... (blah blah blah) Uhm, nagmamadali kaba? kwentuhan muna tayo ha. (kwento) It was nice meeting you Jess! (sabay akbay saken habang papunta kame sa lobby)

After nun, may nakasalubong akong babae na tinanong anong ginagawa namen ni "kuya" sa dulo. Sabay sabing "wag kang maniniwala sa mga sinasabe niya sayo ah, saka wag ka papabola. Hinaharot nya ko." HAHAHAHA. natawa nalang ako. Okaaaaay. Sobrang nakakatuwa kasi inantay pa ko ng new friends ko para maglunch. More than 10 kame, madami kame. 4 boys and the rest, puro girls na. So we headed to the gym, kaso walang prof. Kaya after an hour umuwe na kaming lahat, sabay kami ni Mark as usual. Nauna siyang bumaba since sa litex sya, ako bumaba sa SMF then dun na rin nagpagabi't nagpalamig.

And that, my friends, is my first day in college.