Territory - Territory is defined as the fixed portion on the surface of the earth on which the State settles

and over which it has supreme authority. Terrestrial (land, public dominion and private ownership),
Fluvial , Aerial and Maritime.

The Philippine Archipelago, Article 1

- 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.
a. Article III, Treaty of Paris, Dec 10, 1898 (Spain ceded the P.I. to the U.S.)
- The Treaty of Paris of 1898 (Filipino: Kasunduan sa Paris ng 1898; Spanish: Tratado de París
(1898)) was a treaty signed by Spain and the United States on December 10, 1898, that ended the
Spanish–American War. In the treaty, Spain relinquished all claim of sovereignty over and title to Cuba,
and ceded Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States. The cession of the Philippines
involved a compensation of $20 million from the United States to Spain. [1] The Treaty of Paris came
into effect on April 11, 1899, when the documents of ratification were exchanged.

b. US-Spain Treaty, Nov 7, 1900 (Cagayan, Sulu, and Sibutu)

- Treaty of Washington (1900) – The Treaty of Washington of 1900 was signed on November 7,
1900, and came into effect on March 23, 1901, when the ratifications were exchanged. The treaty
sought to remove any ground of misunderstanding growing out of the interpretation of Article III of the
1898 Treaty of Paris by clarifying specifics of territories relinquished to the United States by Spain. It
explicitly provided:

Spain relinquishes to the United States all title and claim of title; which she may have had at the time of
the conclusion of the Treaty of Peace of Paris, to any and all islands belonging to the Philippine
Archipelago, lying outside the lines described in Article III of that Treaty and particularly to the islands of
Cagayan Sulu and Sibutu and their dependencies, and agrees that all such islands shall be
comprehended in the cession of the Archipelago as fully as if they had been expressly included within
those lines.[1]

c. US-Great Britain Treaty, Jan 2, 1930 (Turtle and Mangsee Islands)

- The terms of that treaty were supplemented by the Treaty of Washington of 1900. On the basis
of this cession, the United States claimed sovereignty over the Philippine Turtle Islands and the Mangsee
Islands, all of which were administered by the British North Borneo Company.

d. 1935 Constitution (Batanes)

- The inclusion of the Batanes as part of the Philippines was only effected in the 1935 Philippine
Constitution with the addition of the clause in the article on national territory: “all territory over which
the present Government [1935 Commonwealth of the Philippines] of the Philippines exercises
jurisdiction.”

Provision on the National Territory of the 1935 Constitution

ARTICLE I
The National Territory

SECTION 1. The Philippines comprises all the territory ceded to the United States by the treaty of Paris
concluded between the United States and Spain on the tenth day of December, eighteen hundred and
ninety-eight, the limits of which are set forth in Article III of said treaty, together with all the islands
embraced in the treaty concluded at Washington, between the United States and Spain on the seventh
day of November, nineteen hundred, and in the treaty concluded between the United States and Great
Britain on the second day of January, nineteen hundred and thirty, and all territory over which the
present Government of the Philippine Islands exercises jurisdiction.

e. 1973 Constitution (territories by historic right or legal title)

ARTICLE I
THE NATIONAL TERRITORY

SECTION 1. The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and waters
embraced therein, and all the other territories belonging to the Philippines by historic right or legal title,
 including the territorial sea, the air space, the subsoil, the sea-bed, the insular shelves, and the other
submarine areas over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction. The waters around,
between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago, irrespective of their breadth and dimensions,
form part of the internal waters of the Philippines.

f. RA 3046, Jun 17, 1961

REPUBLIC ACT No. 3046
(as amended by RA 5446)

AN ACT DEFINES THE BASELINES OF THE TERRITORIAL SEA OF THE PHILIPPINES.

WHEREAS, the Constitution of the Philippines describes the national territory as comprising all the
territory ceded to the United States by the Treaty of Paris concluded between the United States and
Spain on December 10, 1898, the limits of which are set forth in Article III of said treaty, together with all
the islands embraced in the treaty concluded at Washington, between the United States and Spain on
November 7, 1900, and in the treaty concluded between the United States and Great Britain on January
2, 1930, and all the territory over which the Government of the Philippine Islands exercised jurisdiction
at the time of the adoption of the Constitution;

WHEREAS, all the waters within the limits set forth in the above-mentioned treaties have always been
regarded as part of the territory of the Philippine Islands;

WHEREAS, all the waters around, between and connecting the various islands of the Philippines
archipelago, irrespective of their width or dimension, have always been considered as necessary
appurtenances of the land territory, forming part of the inland or internal waters of the Philippines;

WHEREAS, all the waters beyond the outermost islands of the archipelago but within the limits of the
boundaries set forth in the aforementioned treaties comprise the territorial sea of the Philippines;
WHEREAS, the baselines from which the territorial sea of the Philippines is determined consist of
straight lines joining appropriate points of the outermost islands of the archipelago; and

WHEREAS, the said baselines should be clarified and specifically defined and described for the
information of all concerned; Now, therefor,

Section 1. The baselines for the territorial sea of the Philippines are hereby defined and described
specifically as follows: -

g. RA 5446, Sep 8, 1968 (Sabah claim)

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 5446

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION ONE OF REPUBLIC ACT NUMBERED THIRTY HUNDRED AND FORTY-SIX,
ENTITLED “AN ACT TO DEFINE THE BASELINES OF THE TERRITORIAL SEA OF THE PHILIPPINES”

SECTION 1. To correct typographical errors, Section one of Republic Act numbered thirty hundred and
forty-six is amended to read as follows: -

h. PD 1596, Jun 11, 1978 (other territories, claim over KIG)

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO.1596

DECLARING CERTAIN AREA PART OF THE PHILIPPINE TERRITORY AND PROVIDING FOR THEIR
GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION.

WHEREAS, by reason of their proximity the cluster of islands and islets in the South China Sea situated
within the following:

KALAYAAN ISLAND GROUP

From a point [on the Philippine Treaty Limits] at latitude 7°40′ North and longitude 116°00′ East of
Greenwich, thence due West along the parallel of 7°40′ N to its intersection with the meridian of
longitude 112°10′ E, thence due north along the meridian of 112°10′ E to its intersection with the
parallel of 9°00′ N, thence northeastward to the intersection of the parallel of 12°00′ N with the
meridian of longitude 114° 30′ E, thence, due East along the parallel of 12°00′ N to its intersection with
the meridian of 118° 00′ E, thence, due South along the meridian of longitude 118°00′ E to its
intersection with the parallel of 10°00′ N, thence Southwestwards to the point of beginning at 7°40′ N,
latitude and 116° 00′ E longitude.
are vital to the security and economic survival of the Philippines;

WHEREAS, much of the above area is part of the continental margin of the Philippine archipelago;

WHEREAS, these areas do not legally belong to any state or nation but, by reason of history,
indispensable need, and effective occupation and control established in accordance with international
law, such areas must now be deemed to belong and subject to the sovereignty of the Philippines;

WHEREAS, while other states have laid claims to some of these areas, their claims have lapsed by
abandonment and can not prevail over that of the Philippines on legal, historical, and equitable grounds.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers in me
vested by the Constitution, do hereby decree as follows:

SECTION 1. The area within the following boundaries:

KALAYAAN ISLAND GROUP

From a point [on the Philippine Treaty Limits] at latitude 7°40′ North and longitude 116°00′ East of
Greenwich, thence due West along the parallel of 7° 40′ N to its intersection with the meridian of
longitude 112°10′ E, thence due north along the meridian of 112°10′ E to its intersection with the
parallel of 9°00′ N, thence northeastward to the inter-section of the parallel of 12°00′ N with the
meridian of longitude 114° 30′ E, thence, due East along the parallel of 12°00′ N to its intersection with
the meridian of 118°00′ E, thence, due South along the meridian of longitude 118° 00′ E to its
intersection with the parallel of 10°00′ N, thence Southwestwards to the point of beginning at 7°40′ N,
latitude and 116° 00′ E longitude;

including the sea-bed, sub-soil, continental margin and air space shall belong and be subject to the
sovereignty of the Philippines. Such area is hereby constituted as a distinct and separate municipality of
the Province of Palawan and shall be known as “Kalayaan.”

SEC. 2. Pending the election of its regular officials and during the period of emergency declared in
Proclamation No. 1081, and unless earlier provided by law, the administration and government of the
area shall be vested in the Secretary National Defense or in such officers of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines as may designate.

SEC. 3. This Decree shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 11th day of June, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-
eight.

i. PD 1599, Jun 11, 1978 (200 miles EEZ)

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 1599

ESTABLISHING AN EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

On June 11, 1978, PD 1599 was issued establishing the 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone of the
Philippines, extending 200 miles beyond and from the baselines from which the territorial sea is
measured wherein the Philippines reserves the sovereign right therein.

j. UNCLOS I, II and III (1994) (Archipelagic principle, right of innocent passage, right to sea lane
passage)
UNCLOS - United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

k. RA 9522 (demarcation of maritime zone and continental shelf under UNCLOS

III) - Begun and held in Metro Manila, on Monday, the twenty-eight day of July, two thousand eight.

REPUBLIC ACT No. 9522 March 10, 2009

AN ACT TO AMEND CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 3046, AS AMENDED BY REPUBLIC ACT
NO. 5446, TO DEFINE THE ARCHIPELAGIC BASELINE OF THE PHILIPPINES AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled::
Section 1. Section 1 of Republic Act No. 3046, entitled "An Act to Define the Baselines of the Territorial
Sea of the Philippines", as amended by Section 1 of Republic Act No. 5446, is hereby amended to read as
follows:

Section 1. The baselines of the Philippines archipelago are hereby defined and described specifically as
follows: -

Cases:
- Province of North Cotabato v GRP Peace Panel on Ancestral Domain, 568 SCRA 402 (2008)

- Magalona v Ermita, 655 SCRA 476 (2011)

- Capitol Wireless v Provincial Treasurer of Batangas, GR 180110, May 30, 2016