First Bloggers Forum on West PH Sea in Cebu

(PIA-7) — The information campaign on the West Philippine Sea is now tapping the bloggers to penetrate netizens.

For the first time, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) launched a modern means to make the public, local, and international, aware of the issues surrounding the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

DFA coordinated with Philippine Information Agency (PIA–Cebu) tapping the bloggers in the province for the information campaign.

Executive Director of the Maritime and Ocean Affairs Office (MOAO) DFA, Maria Teresa Almojuela urged the Cebu bloggers to use their blogs as medium in reaching out to the netizens.

“If you can, please blog in Chinese, so that they can understand what’s happening, what their government is doing,” Almojuela said.

Almojuela briefed the bloggers on the history of the different claims made on the islands in the South China Sea where the West Philippine Sea is located.

Each country is entitled to 200 nautical miles of additional sea boundary as Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf, she said.

This was stated and agreed in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS) by 166 countries where China and the Philippines were also signatories.

“However China suddenly came up with the nine dash line and now covers 80 percent of the 200 miles Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines,” Almojuela said.

It also overlapped even into the EEZ’s and CS’ of Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.

Part of the Philippines’ claim in South China sea is the Kalayaan Island Group and the Scarborough Shoal.

Currently China had put up a so called “fishermen’s shelter” which turned out to be a military garrison.

On the other hand, National Scientist and known marine biologist Dr. Edgardo Gomez told the group that the reclamation and fishing activities of the Chinese in the area is costing $100,000,000 damage to the marine diversity in the area.

These activities include the destruction of the coral reefs where the reclamations are located as well as the gathering of giant clams.

Cebu Blogging Community president, Ruben Licera said this is a one of a kind advocacy which is also important for the bloggers to take part.

“Instead of blogging about some non essential things, this time we can help educate specially the Chinese. Let’s learn to blog in Mandarin in their own language,” Licera said.

The bloggers in Cebu and PIA had already joined hands in several advocacies with hashtag #iBlogsforSocialgood. Other topics include #iBlogforRabiesFreePH and the ecovoluntourism event #iBlogforBantayan.

DFA also held in Cebu the very first multi stakeholders forum on WPS in March. (mbcn/fcc/PIA7-Cebu)