President Rodrigo Duterte has signed an executive order officially renaming Benham Rise to “Philippine Rise” to use the resource-rich territory off the coast of Aurora province. He signed Executive Order 25 on May 16 renaming the 13-million-hectare area undersea landmass off Aurora. Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol, who led a three-day expedition aboard the M/V DA-BFAR early this month, said his department wanted to focus on exploring the region’s potentials for food security.

Bencito, J. P., Fabunan, S. S. D., & Araneta, M. C. (2017, May 23). Benham gets renamed; Beijing sidesteps threat. Manila Standard, pp. A1, A2.