SC: Joint marine seismic undertaking by PH, China, Vietnam unconstitutional

The Supreme Court has declared void and unconstitutional the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) which the Philippines entered into with China and Vietnam in 2005.

Voting 12-2-1, the Supreme Court en banc ruled that the JMSU was unconstitutional because it allowed wholly-owned foreign corporations to explore the country’s natural resources. 

The JMSU expired on June 30, 2008.

The JMSU is an agreement by the Philippine National Oil Company, the China National Offshore Oil Corp., and the Vietnam Oil Gas Corp. as regards oil exploration in 142,886 square kilometers of the South China Sea.

The case stemmed from the petition filed in May 2008 by then Bayan Muna Party-List representatives Satur Ocampo and Teodor Casiño assailing the constitutionality of the undertaking.

The petitioners argued that the JSMU was illegal as it allowed foreign corporations to undertake a large-scale exploration of petroleum resources, violating a provision under the 1987 Constitution which reserves the exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources to Filipinos or corporations which are 60% owned by Filipinos.

For its part, the respondents argued that Section 2, Article XII of the Constitution is inapplicable as it covers the utilization of natural resources while the JSMU only involves pre-exploration activities.

In a press briefer, Court said that it was clear that the JMSU was executed to determine if petroleum existed in the area.

It cited a clause of the JMSU which states that the parties’ “expressed desire to engage in a joint research of petroleum resource potential of a certain area of the South China Sea as a pre-exploration activity.”

“That the Parties designated the joint research as a ‘pre-exploration activity’ is of no moment… Such designation does not detract from the fact that the intent and aim of the agreement is to discover petroleum, which is tantamount to exploration,” the Court said.

The decision was penned by Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan.

Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo and 10 other associate justices concurred while Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier and Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda dissented.

Associate Justice Ramo Paul Hernando, meanwhile, was on leave and did not take part. 

Asked if the ruling on the undertaking will have any effect on the joint exploration the Philippines is now negotiating with China, SC spokesman Atty. Brian Hosaka said, "The court cannot speculate on that."

"The decision was in connection to the 2005 JMSU," Hosaka said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Beijing said the Philippines and China would continue negotiations as regards joint oil and gas explorations in the South China Sea. —NB, GMA Integrated News