Section 1, Article 1 of the 1987 Constitution

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 internal waters of the Philippines.
Necessity of constitutional provision on National Territory
1. Binding force of such provision under international law.
A state has the power to try, hear and decide cases throughout the extent of its territory.
If there is a territorial dispute it should be settled according to the international law.
2. Value of provision defining our national territory.
It is important to know so that we and the other nations would know the boundaries of our country.
3. Acquisition of other territories.
Even though the bounds of our national territory is already written in the law, this does not prevent the Philippines from
acquiring new territories by means of purchase, exchange, and such.
National Territory of the Philippines comprises of:
1. The Philippine archipelago with all the islands and waters embraced therein;
2. All other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction.
3. The terrestrial, fluvial and aerial domains including the territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and
other submarine areas thereof; and
4. The internal waters.
Other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction
According to the 1973 constitution, all the other territories belonging to the Philippines by historic right or legal
1. Philippine claim to Sabah
2. Philippine claim to Spratley Island.
Currently the Philippines is occupying nine features (seven islands, three reefs):
Other areas included in the Philippine archipelago.
The Philippine territory consists of its terrestrial, fluvial, and aerial domains. Included in its fluvial domains, in addition to
the external waters, are:
1. Territorial sea.
2. The seabed
3. The subsoil
4. Insular shelves
5. Other submarine areas
Three-fold division of navigable waters.
From the standpoint of international law, the waters of the earth are divided into:
1. Inland or internal waters
2. Territorial sea (Supra)
3. High or open seas
All other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty
- includes any territory that presently belongs or might in the future belong to the Philippines through any of the
accepted international modes of acquiring territory.
Archipelagic Principle
Two elements: 1. The definition of internal waters (supra); 2. The straight baseline method of delineating the territorial
sea
Important distances with respect to the waters around the Philippines
-Territorial Sea 12 nautical miles (n.m.)
-Contiguous Zone 12 n.m. from the edge of the territorial sea
-Exclusive Economic Zone 200 n.m. from the baseline
Territorial Sea
The belt of the sea located between the coast and internal waters of the coastal state on the one hand, and the high
seas on the other, extending up to 12 nautical miles from the low water mark.
Contiguous Zone
Extends up to 12 nautical miles from the territorial sea. Although not part of the
territory, the coastal State may exercise jurisdiction to prevent infringement of customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary
laws.
Exclusive Economic Zone
The state in the EEZ exercises jurisdiction with regard to:
1. the establishment and use of artificial islands, installations, and structures;
2. marine scientific research;
3. the protection and preservation of marine environment;
The Philippine Position
1. Fatal effect application of 12 mile rule upon territorial integrity of the Philippines To apply to the three-mile rule to
the Philippines, with every island having its own territorial sea, would have a fatal effect upon the territorial integrity of
the Philippines. It would mean the dismemberment of the archipelago with the Sibuyan sea separating the Visayas, and
the Mindanao Strait and the Sulu isolating Palawan from the rest of the archipelago.
These and other areas of waters would cease to be Philippine waters; they would become international waters or high
seas, and fishing vessels from all nations can enter to get fish and other living resources of the sea which nature and
Divine Providence intended for the Filipinos. Furthermore, warships of even unfriendly nations could enter these waters
and stay there with perfect legal right to do so. At the same time, we would lose a large part of our territory on both
sides of the archipelago, towards the China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
2. The Philippines, a single nation and a united state - More than seven thousand islands comprise the Philippines ruled
by one whole unitary government, bound by a common heritage, beholden to the same tradition, pursuing the same
ideals, interdependent and united politically, economically and socially as one nation.
3. Archipelago principle fully recognized bu UN Law of the Sea Convention - The archipelago principle and the exclusive
economic zone rights are now fully recognized in the U.N. Law of the Sea Convention. It was approved by the interim
Batasang Pambansa on February 27, 1984.