In a bid to assert the Philippines’ sovereign rights over Benham Rise, President Duterte has signed Executive Order 25 renaming the undersea region as Philippine Rise. The EO that Duterte signed on May 16 also directed the National Mapping and Resources Information Authority (NAMRIA) to indicate the name Philippine Rise, in lieu of Benham Rise, when referring to the area in all official maps and charts that it would produce and publish. In renaming the plateau, Malacañang cited the Philippines’ jurisdiction over the area based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) signed and ratified by the Philippines on Dec. 10, 1982 and May 8, 1984, respectively, and enforced on Nov. 16, 1994.

Mendez, C. (2017, May 23). Rody signs EO renaming Benham ‘Philippine Rise’. Philippine Star, p. 1.