Agriculture officials are sailing to Benham Rise from May 5 to 7 to explore the 13-million hectare continental shelf, Department of Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said yesterday.
Piñol said President Duterte has given him the go-signal for the three-day expedition that was earlier scheduled during the Holy Week. It was postponed when a low pressure area was spotted east of the country.
“Go ahead and discover what could be done to protect the area,” Piñol quoted Duterte as saying during a meeting in Malacañang Wednesday night.
The expedition will focus on exploring the resource-rich waters of Benham Rise.
It is seen to sustain the country’s needs if properly protected and managed, Piñol said in a statement.
Also in the voyage are officials from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources onboard the Research Vessel MV DA-BFAR accompanied by at least four more smaller DA-BFAR vessels.
About a dozen “Pagbabago” fiberglass fishing boats manned by Filipino fishermen will also join the expedition that will leave Infanta, Quezon on May 5.
Accredited divers’ and environmental groups who wish to join the expedition can coordinate with the DA-BFAR.
Piñol said they will drop anchor at the shallowest part of Benham Rise where members of the expedition and the fishermen will set up fish sheds.
Mainly coral formations with the shallow portion estimated to be 50-meters deep, the Benham Rise, or Philippine Rise, was declared by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as part of the Philippine Continental Shelf.
The area may be a rich source of oil and gas but suggestions to conduct energy explorations in the area have been opposed by environmentalists. (Vanne Elaine P. Terrazola)