The Department of Agriculture (DA) is planning to construct a P4-billion rig, which will serve as a multipurpose facility, in the shallowest portion of the Philippine Rise next year.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said the DA is seeking an additional budget of P4 billion for its attached agency, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Bfar), which will oversee the construction of the facility in Benham Bank.
“In our revised proposal, we are requesting about P4 billion to be included in the 2018 budget because I received the go signal from the President to explore this. The idea is to set up a facility in the shallowest portion of the Philippine Rise which is the Benham Bank,” Piñol told reporters in an interview.
The agriculture chief said the proposed P4-billion facility would feature a research station, a helipad, a docking area for Philippine ships and boats. “This will serve as our advanced command post for research and monitoring. It has a similar design of a jack-up rig but of bigger size and scope.”
Piñol added that the plan to construct a rig is Manila’s way of strengthening its territorial claim to the 13-million hectare undersea plateau.
“We’re putting this up to show to the world that [Philippine Rise] is ours and to make sure we are able to protect it from the exploitation of other people who tried to go there,” he said.
The DA chief added Sen. Loren Legarda, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, is keen on granting his request for additional budget.
“Actually, I have talked to Legarda because this was not part of the budget approved by the Department of Budget and Management. In principle, the senator endorsed the idea,” Piñol said.
Piñol also said he would rather see Philippine Rise as the country’s food-supply zone than explore the area for minerals.
“I’m not against mining per se, but we have to balance everything. You have to understand that the exploration of minerals actually is a finite operation,” he said when asked about Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu’s pronouncement that he wants to fast-track geological investigation and mineral exploration in Philippine Rise.
“We look at Philippine Rise as a source of endless food supply. If the marine resources will be managed well, then this will become an infinite source of food by just allowing the fish to spawn during the spawning season and they will be able to sustain life,” he added.
In May Piñol lead a team from the DA and the Bfar for a three-day expedition to Philippine Rise to survey the area’s potential for food production.
Philippine Rise is a 13-million hectare underwater plateau that is around 5,000 meters deep from the sea surface and accounts for 43 percent of the total fish catch landed at Dinahican Port in Infanta, Quezon, according to the DA.
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