THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF ‘THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
SENATE 
S. NO. 
INTRODUCED BY HON. MANUEL B. VILLAR, JR. 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The country’s foreign policy and maritime security is determined by its geography. The 
Philippines, being an Archipelagic State, is cradled, surrounded, and challenged by the sea. 
Though recognized as an Archipelagic State by the 1982 United Nations Law of the Sea 
Convention (LOSC), the Philippines has yet to settle and negotiate overlapping maritime 
jurisdictions under the LOSC. 
As a result, the Cabinet Committee on Maritime and Ocean Affairs (CABCOM-MOA) 
was created under Executive Order No. 738 in July 1984 as the Secretariat that worked on the 
necessary requirements and policies established in the Convention. In 1999, the Secretariat was 
renamed and reconstituted as the Maritime and Ocean Affairs Center (MOAC) by Executive 
Order No. 132. To cope with increased responsibilities and tasks, the functions of the 
CABCOM-MOA were transferred to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) by Executive 
Order No. 37 signed by Pres. Arroyo in September 2001. The same Executive Order expanded 
and upgraded MOAC’s functions. 
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) however regards MOAC only as an 
“activity” of the DFA, and not as a regular attached agency with its own budget and staff. This 
has affected MOAC’s current operations, especially in terms of funding its projects and hiring 
needed staff. 
MOAC needs to be given specific policy directives and needs to be equipped with 
adequate human resources and organizational capabilities, as well as to be provided with 
sufficient financial resources and to be given fiscal flexibility to finance projects to meet the 
urgent requirements of the ocean and maritime interests of the country. 
Empowering MOAC through a legislative charter will be a step towards harnessing the 
benefits of our national wealth and at the samei time, work for its protection. 
The establishment of the Maritime and Ocean Affairs Center as an attached agency of the 
DFA is sought, for the promotion, protection, maintenance of national unity, sovereignty, 
territorial integrity, maritime security, and sustainable and environmentally sound development 
of our country’s ocean and maritime resources. 
Senator 1. 


THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
SENATE 
S. No: 
INTRODUCED BY HON. MANUEL B. VILLAR, JR. 
AN ACT 
ESTABLISHING THE MARITIME AND OCEAN AFFAIRS CENTER AS AN 
ATTACHED AGENCY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, 
PROVIDING FOR ITS FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES, APPROPRIATING 
FUNDS THEWFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short title. This Act shall be known as the Maritime and Ocean Affairs Center 
Act of 2004. 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. It is the policy of the Philippines, as an archipelagic State, 
to promote, protect and maintain national unity, sovereignty, territorial integrity, maritime 
security, and a sustainable and environmentally sound development of ocean and marine 
resources within the framework of a National Marine policy. 
The National Marine Policy shall reflect the national marine interests within the context of 
international law and regime of the oceans, including the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention and 
other non-binding declarations to which the Philippines is a signatory. 
The State recognizes that marine resources and environment, including those of the oceans, all 
seas, archipelagic waters, and adjacent coastal areas form an integrated whole that are essential 
components of the national ocean economy and life-support system constituting vital assets for 
sustainable development. 
The State shall promote an integrated management and sustainable development of all coastal 
and marine areas within all its maritime jurisdictions, including the Exclusive Economic Zone 
and the extended continental shelf benefiting all stakeholders equitably. 
The State shall provide for an integrated policy and decision-making process, including 
comprehensive consultation mechanisms with public and private sectors, in order to achieve a 
rational, compatible and equitable use of the oceans. 
SECTION 3. Responsibilities and Functions of the Department of Foreign Affairs on 
maritime and ocean affairs 
The Department of Foreign Affairs shall have the primary responsibility in the conduct of ocean 
diplomacy and in providing information and advice in the formulation, updating and 
implementation of the National Marine. policy. 


Pursuant to the foregoing responsibilities, the Department of Foreign Affairs shall have the 
following hctions: 
a. Oversee and coordinate the implementation of the National Maritime Policy and 
periodically evaluate and update it as necessary; 
b. Formulate and recommend programs and special projects to enhance the integrated 
and coordinated management of maritime and ocean interests of the Philippines, 
particularly in: 
(1) The protection of the archipelago, including promotion of maritime security 
in relation to the national territory and maritime jurisdictions and the 
development of national capabilities to preserve and manage its maritime 
resources; 
(2) The prevention of the degradation of the marine environment and ocean 
resources through the proper management of human activities within its 
maritime jurisdiction; 
(3) The development and promotion of Philippine interests in shipping, 
seafaring, fisheries exploitation and extraction of mineral and energy 
resources, and other ocean-based industries; 
(4) Identify and develop policy options in implementing international 
agreements on the oceans, as well as non-binding instruments, to which the 
Philippines is a party or signatory; 
(5) Recommend policies, programs and special projects necessary to advance the 
national interest and fulfill international commitments relative to the 
sustainable use of ocean resources and marine scientific research; 
(6) Source foreign technical and other assistance for projects, in coordination 
with relevant agencies of the government on the small-scale use of marine 
resources by subsistence fishermen and their association to further improve 
methods of fishing, fish-farming, aqua-culture and marine-related studies 
which directly help them augment incomes while conserving resources and 
protecting the environment; 
(7) Formulated programs, coordinate and/or undertake activities to promote the 
archipelagic consciousness in the country. 
SECTION 4. Creation and functions of the Maritime and Ocean Affairs Center 
The Maritime and Ocean Affairs Center is created as an attached agency of the 
Department of Foreign Affairs, hereafter known as the Center. 
The Center shall have the following functions and responsibilities: 
a. Serve as the Secretariat to the Department of Foreign Affairs on maritime and ocean 
affairs and provide assistance and administrative support to the Secretary of Foreign 
Affairs with regard to maritime and ocean matters; 
b. Promote the development of national capabilities and institutions including human 
resources, for maritime an ocean affairs; 


c. Undertake the following: 
(I) Consultations with any government agency, concerned maritime and ocean 
sectors, non-government organization, academe, and/or the general public, on 
any maritime related matters as may be deemed necessary; 
(2) Research programs and policy studies on any and/or all maritime sectors as 
may be needed including those for regulatory, governmental, strategic, or 
maritime security purposes; 
(3) Initiate steps to harmonize andlor update domestic legislation and rules and 
regulations with international agreements or non-binding instruments to 
which the Philippines is a party; 
(4) Research, data gathering, information acquisition, and preparation for any 
negotiation or other modes of dispute settlement with other countries in 
matters concerning the delineatioddelimitation of territorial and maritime 
boundaries, fisheries, energy and mineral exploration and exploitation in the 
ocean, or other agreements relating to the conservation, exploration, 
exploitation, protection, development, and/or management of marine 
resources within the archipelagic waters, territorial seas and exclusive 
economic zone as well as areas as adjacent to the latter. 
d. Create and maintain a central data-base on maritime and ocean affairs, as well as an 
ocean-charting and information-gathering system in the form of the MOAC-GIs, in 
support of maritime and ocean policy and decision-making and implementation; 
e. Identify, network with, and mobilize national and/or international expertise and 
institutions in support of or to assist the Government in maritime and ocean policy 
and decision-making and implementation; 
f. Undertake, or cause to be undertaken, activities necessary to raise the national 
archipelagic consciousness and communicate and publicize in a coordinated manner, 
national maritime and ocean interests and issues; 
g. Coordinate the participation of the appropriate agencies of government in 
international fora, meetings and conferences that are relevant to the maritime and 
ocean interest of the Philippines; 
h. Render a regular report to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, on all activities 
undertaken by the Center; 
i. Source out an avail of grants, endowments or donations from foreign to local entities 
in accordance with existing laws to be applied to projects or programs and studies to 
implement the policies or directives of the Department of Foreign Affairs in 
connection with maritime and ocean affairs. 
SECTION 5. Organization of the Maritime and Ocean Affairs Center 
a. Secretary General -to be appointed by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs from among the 
career Chiefs of Mission from the Department of Foreign Affairs will head the Center. 
For purposes of appropriate representation in the conduct of high-level international 
negotiations and conferences, the Secretary General shall be accorded the rank of 
Undersecretary or its equivalent as Vice-Minister. 
The Secretary General is hereby authorized to hire and determine remuneration of 
consultants and experts, as needed; 


The Secretary General is authorized to request and accept the detail and secondment of 
personnel from other government agencies, the academe, and other institutions in 
accordance with the Civil Service Law and rules and regulations; 
The Secretary General is authorized to draw up the staffing pattern and staff rules of the 
Center, together with a system of allowances and honoraria, for approval by the Secretary 
of Foreign Affairs. 
b. Executive Director - with the rank of Director IV, shall be designated by the Secretary 
General, who shall serve as the Chief of Staff of the Center and provide supervision of 
the substantive workflow and administrative and day-to-day operations of the Center. 
c. The Center shall have the following initial Directorates, each fully staffed and headed by 
a Director to be designated by the Secretary General: 
I. 
Directorate for Territorial and Other Maritime Jurisdictions, Archipelagic 
Sealanes, Sea-lines of Communication (SLOC’s), Marine Geodesy and 
Charting 
11. 
Directorate for Sea-bed Resources, International Sea-bed Authority, Extended 
Continental Shelf 
111. 
Directorate for Fisheries, Marine Environment Protection, Marine Scientific 
Research 
IV. 
Directorate for Oceans Law and Policy, International Negotiations, 
International Dispute Settlement Procedures 
V. 
Directorate for Maritime Security, Anti-Piracy, Marine Pollution, MCS & 
VMS 
VI. 
Directorate for Maritime and Ocean Information Resource and Conference 
Services 
VII. 
Directorate for Administrative, Financial Management and Ocean Economy 
Studies 
SECTION 6. Funding and Sourcing 
a. Subject to the usual auditing and accounting rules and regulations, the Center shall be 
provided with an initial appropriation of Twenty Million Pesos (P20,000,000.00) to be 
drawn from funds to be identified by the Department of Budget and Management. 
b. The Center is hereby authorized to find ways and means of undertaking projects with the 
associated financing, including, charges and fees for services in terms of subscriptions, 
the availment of loans from overseas and multilateral financial institutions and recourse 
to joint ventures on infrastructure projects under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) 
scheme as authorized by R.A. 7718 for projects related to: 
1. Geodetic, hydrographic, and marine geological surveys for the systematic 
collection of basic information, including mapping and charting of the exclusive 
economic zones, and the extended continental shelf, in accordance with 
international hydrographic and geodetic standards, in order to meet the November 
16, 2004 deadline for the submission to the United Nations Commission on the 
Limits of the Continental Shelf to generate the required geodetic data and other 
geological information to be shown on official charts in compliance with Article 


76 of the Law of the Sea Convention, and Article 4 of Annex I1 of the same 
convention; 
2. Hydrographic survey, electronic charting and delineation of archipelagic sealanes 
in compliance with Article 53 of the Law of the Sea Convention, together with the 
formulation of associated protective measures, including marine safety 
regulations, emplacement of navigational aids, rationalization of domestic ship 
routering, enforcement of traffic management, installation of pollution monitoring 
devices and metereological warning systems; 
3. Remote-sensing and laser-assisted Geomatics methods for rapid charting of 
coastal areas, Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSA’s), including redefinition 
and delineation of municipal waters to harmonize these jurisdictions with 
maritime jurisdictions under the Law of the Sea Convention. 
4. Creation of the web-enabled Geographic Information System (GIS) as authorized 
under R.A. 8792, the Electronic Commerce Act, that would allow access to maps, 
charts, geologic data, information on fishing areas, protected areas and associated 
information by concerned agencies and the private sector; 
5. Design and implementation of the satellite-based Monitoring, Control and 
Surveillance (MOAC-MCS) and a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) for use by 
all concerned agencies and the private sector for anti-piracy and anti-terrorism 
measures, prevention of illegal entry, search-and-rescue operations, safety of 
shipping and life at sea, fisheries management, and monitoring of sea-lanes and 
marine pollution. The systems shall operate on a subscription basis that ensures 
that each system pays for itself, including operational costs; security measures 
shall be undertaken to ensure integrity of data and the protection of encrypted 
and/or proprietary information. 
6. Feasibility studies for the establishment of ocean-related industries as part of the 
ocean cluster. 
7. Marine research studies, preferably in cooperation, with international and regional 
institutions. 
SECTION 7. TRANSITORY PROVISIONS 
Upon approval of this Act, the existing Maritime and Ocean Affairs Center at the 
Department of Foreign Affairs created under Executive Order 37 issued on 24 September 2001, 
shall be become the core of the Center created under this Act. The reorganization, hiring of 
additional personnel, consultants, and experts and re-location to suitable office premises and 
associated changes provided for in this Act, shall be undertaken expeditiously, based on a 
program of conversion, within six months fi-om approval of this Act. 
The Department of the Budget and Management is hereby requested to release 
expeditiously to the Center the funds appropriated and authorized under this Act. 
SECTION 8. REPEALING CLAUSE 
All laws or parts of any law, executive orders of parts thereof inconsistent with 
the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
SECTION 9. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE 
If any provision of this Act is held invalid, the other provisions not affected 
thereby shall continue in operation. 


SECTION 10. EFFECTIVITY CLAUSE 
This Act shall take effect after its approval.