President Rodrigo Duterte can rename, through executive order (EO), five undersea features in the Philippine Rise that Beijing earlier gave Chinese names to. Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian and Foreign Affairs Secretary Lourdes Yparraguirre stressed this during Thursday’s resumption of the public hearing on the proposal to form the Philippine Rise Development Authority (PRDA). The Philippines in February protested China’s move to rename five undersea features in the Philippine Rise – Jinghao, Tianbao, Haidonquing, Jujiu seamounts and Cuiqiao Hill. Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs, said the public hearing showed that nothing prevented the Philippines from renaming, for “domestic use,” the five undersea features.

Tamayo, B. E. (2018, March 16). 'EO can rename PH Rise features'. The Manila Times, pp. A1, A2.