Paglinawan disputes Carpio stance on EEZ

Public intellectual and political journalist Adolfo “Ka Ado” Paglinawan has challenged retired Supreme Court justice Antonio Carpio over his position that satellite-based global positioning system (GPS) data are enough to define the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the West Philippine Sea.

Speaking at a forum organized by the Asian Century Philippines Strategic Studies Institute, Paglinawan said Carpio’s long-held view that the country’s EEZ exists automatically under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) fails to fully address provisions governing overlapping maritime claims.

Paglinawan also took aim at former justice Adolfo Azcuna, who, along with Carpio, recently dismissed Senator Rodante Marcoleta’s legal competence in an online interview and maintained that a coastal state need not publish geographic coordinates to assert its EEZ.

He argued that reliance on Articles 76 and 77 of UNCLOS, which recognize inherent rights over the continental shelf, is incomplete without considering Articles 74 and 75 that require delimitation agreements and the publication of coordinates where maritime zones overlap.

“Automatic entitlement alone is not enough,” Paglinawan said, citing Article 74’s requirement for states with overlapping EEZs to negotiate boundaries or adopt provisional arrangements pending agreement.

He warned that without clearly defined and publicly deposited coordinates, Philippine maritime claims remain vulnerable. “Without defined coordinates, a claim cannot be objectively tested, peacefully contested, or credibly defended,” he said, echoing the view of Washington-based lawyer Arnedo Valera.

Paglinawan reiterated: “Satellite-based GPS measurements are not enough to determine the country’s EEZ. This oversimplifies enforcement and ignores the legal requirement for official charts and deposited coordinates under Article 75 of Unclos.”

He also backed Marcoleta’s proposal to review existing maritime laws, saying the move aims to strengthen enforcement and diplomacy rather than engage in political grandstanding. Marcoleta previously represented the SAGIP Party-list in the House of Representatives.

In closing, Paglinawan questioned the consistency of the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, or Republic Act 12064, authored by former senator Francis Tolentino. He said unresolved legal gaps could undermine Manila’s position in the broader South China Sea dispute and complicate enforcement of the 2016 arbitral ruling that favored the Philippines. TRACY CABRERA