Practice question
An agency plans a scientific installation on the seabed beneath waters concededly inside the Philippine archipelagic baselines. Its legal officer claims that the Philippines has authority over only the water surface and cannot regulate the installation because the seabed is outside the territory. There is no competing territorial claim in the problem. Which is the best answer?
- The officer is correct because only islands can be territory
- The installation is outside Philippine authority unless it rises above the water
- The seabed belongs automatically to the installer
- The officer's position is incorrect because the constitutional and current statutory descriptions extend to the seabed and subsoil, not merely the surface
- Only the nationality of the equipment manufacturer controls
Legal references
- 1987 Constitution, Article I: https://lawphil.net/consti/cons1987.html
- Republic Act No. 12064, Sections 3 to 5: https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/2/98027
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