President Rodrigo Duterte is willing to invest taxpayer money on maritime survey vessels, Malacañang said on Tuesday. In a news briefing, Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said there was a need to assess the natural resources in the Philippine Rise or Benham Rise.

Villanueva, R. U., & Panti, L. T. (2018, March 7). Govt to buy research vessels to explore Benham. The Manila Times, p. A2.