President Duterte has signed a presidential proclamation to protect 50,000 hectares of the Philippine Rise including Benham Bank, where some areas have 100 percent coral cover, as a “strict protection zone.” “I’m officially issuing a presidential proclamation, formally declaring parts of the Philippine Rise undersea feature as a marine resource reserve,” Duterte said recently in a media briefing aboard the navy ship Davao del Sur off the coast of Aurora. Benham Bank, covering around 17,000 hectares, is declared a no-take zone and thus closed to any human activity except scientific research.

Presidential proclamation signed to protect Philippine Rise. (2018, May 24). The Philippine Star, p. B6.