BENHAM RISE COULD BE AURORA’S RISE, TOO

UNDERWATER PLATEAU. Found near Aurora, the 13-million hectare Benham Rise is part of Philippine territory. Screen grab from a document the Philippines submitted to UN.

Aurora has languished too long in this unenviable list we call the 20 poorest provinces of the country. That dark chapter in the province’s history was long over and therefore, it is safe to say I am speaking in the past tense.  For Aurora has since made giant strides to development such that is has become the envy of other provinces.

         

But as people are won’t to say, when it rains, it pours. While it is progressing by leaps and bounds, Aurora’s potential for growth has not come or came close to a halt. The possibilities for this province named after former First Lady Dona Aurora Aragon Quezon seems endless just like unlimited call and text promoted by the country’s leading telecommunications companies.

What makes me salivate even more over Aurora’s growth potentials is the emergence of Benham Rise as a potential cash cow for the province. The 13-million-hectare continental shelf off the coast of Aurora and Isabela is a veritable gold mine which is unlike the Spratly Islands which is being claimed in whole or in part by China and other nations.

I have written an article about Benham Rise but what fuels the adrenaline rush about this is Congressman Sonny Angara’s expression of support for the government’s plan to explore Benham Rise which the United Nations has recently declared as part of Philippine territory.

Cong. Sonny said he would move for the immediate approval of Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’ (BFAR) budget this year at the House appropriations committee, as this would hasten the move to study opportunities for Benham Rise.

“I believe in opportunities, in possibilities. These are the things that we must not fail to capitalize and to take advantage of. If there will be legislations that would be needed and required in the future, count me in, I will help,” he said.

The Benham Rise is not only home for deep-water fish such as blue fin tuna but is also believed to be rich in natural gas and minerals.

Angara said an in-depth study would allow the government to map out a comprehensive plan on how to effectively utilize the Benham Rise.

Never mind that there are reports foreign fishermen are allegedly poaching in waters off Benham Rise, which makes it important for the country to protect its territory and for the Philippine Navy to beef up its surveillance in the area so no foreign vessels, commercial or otherwise are trespassing within its legal territory.

If fully explored, Benham Rise could make Aurora rise, too. Weather weather lang yan. At suwerte suwerte.

Angara ng buhay sa Aurora pag nagkataon. ‘Di ba Cong Sonny?

Benham Rise is a 13-million hectare seismically active underwater region and extinct volcanic ridge located approximately 250 kilometers east of the northern coastline of Dinapigue, Isabela.

It is the first territory that the Philippines won under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), the same convention the Philippines invokes in its two-month standoff with China over Scarborough Shoal on the western side of the country.

The Philippines filed its claim for Benham Rise in 2008 and the UN has officially approved the claim in April 2012.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has previously said it has plans to also explore the potentially rich marine resources at the new territory, as well as the largely unexplored Pacific seaboard

The DOE has previously auctioned energy blocs in the western side of the Philippines under PECR-4.

However, investor interest has been dampened by the ongoing territorial dispute between the Philippines and China, which claims all of the South China Sea (or West Philippine Sea). (Jason de Asis)