A long-standing legal principle supports the Philippines’ ownership of the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) in Palawan without having to argue about the nuances of international law, Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson said.
Lacson said the Philippines became the owner of the KIG through a mode of acquiring territory known as discovery and effective occupation.
“The Philippines became the owner of the KIG through a mode of acquiring territory known as discovery and effective occupation.”
“Yung Spratly Islands, hindi ba si Tomas Cloma ang naka-discover nito kasi in-occupy niya? And this was formalized by the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. by way of Presidential Decree 1596 in 1978,” the veteran legislator said at the hearing of the CA’s Committee on National Defense.
Citing the principle of res nullius (“belonging to no one”), the seasoned lawmaker noted that no state legally owned the territory at the time Cloma discovered and occupied it.
The senator added Cloma then turned over ownership to the Philippine government thus leading to the presidential decree, although international law would still govern it.
“This was made formal by the 2016 arbitral ruling.”
“This was made formal by the 2016 arbitral ruling,” he pointed out.
Following this principle, Lacson – who in 2021 visited Pagasa Island in the KIG in Palawan that is occupied by Filipinos – maintained that the island group “is ours.”
Earlier during the hearing, Senator Rodante Marcoleta said part of the KIG is “way beyond our exclusive economic zone.”
“So atin ang KIG. And Pagasa Island is a barangay of the KIG municipality, province of Palawan. This is the only inhabited barangay in the KIG and it is ours,” Lacson concluded.
