๐๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐. ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ
Street art is a legal form of artistic expression that always had a history of being influenced by prevailing social issues.
Street art makes daily activities more interesting by adding character to what would otherwise just be grey and boring walls.
The first national West Philippine Sea (WPS) Mural Festival was conceived as a nationwide competition among Filipino artists to create public artworks that promote patriotism and support efforts to protect the WPS.
โJoin the WPS mural festival and turn blank walls into vibrant masterpieces that celebrate our rights, seas, heritage, and future!” said Rear Adm. Jay Tarriela as Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the WPS.
Carrying the theme โKulayan ang Karagatan para sa Kalayaan,โ the festival aims to strengthen public awareness and highlight the role of art in expression and nation-building.
Under the guidelines, selected mural entries must be at least 15 square meters, displayed in public spaces, and supported by written permission from property owners.
The top three entries will be awarded โฑ1,000,000 (first place), โฑ500,000 (second place), and โฑ350,000 (third place). A total of 100 winners will receive โฑ30,000 each.
Registration runs from February 10 to April 10, 2026, with winners to be announced in July 2026.
Documentary filmmaker Baby Ruth Villarama said that the WPS mural festival seeks to bring the story of the sea closer to the heart of every Filipino.
Her film โFood Deliveryโ chronicles the countryโs struggle to assert its rights in the WPS and the daily hardships of Filipino fishermen.
The five-member United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Arbitral Tribunal released on July 12, 2016 its decision in favor of the Philippines on most of its submissions on the WPS issue.
UNCLOS, adopted in 1982 and in force since 1994, is the international treaty establishing the comprehensive legal framework for all ocean space, maritime activities, and resources. It defines rights, jurisdictions, and responsibilities, covering zones like the territorial sea and exclusive economic zone
Since around 2009, China has steadily increased its efforts to consolidate its position in the WPS with varied tactics, including using its military, coast guard, and maritime militia to harass foreign ships; exploring and extracting resources in disputed areas; and constructing artificial islands and basing military and civilian assets there.
The Philippines initiated on January 2013 the arbitration case (Philippines vs. China, PCA Case No 2013-19) wherein it sought, among others, a declaration that the countriesโ respective rights and obligations regarding the waters, seabed, and maritime features of the West Philippine Sea are governed by the UNCLOS.
The key findings of the July 12, 2016 ruling include:
(a) Chinaโs claims to historic rights and resources within its nine-dash line have no legal basis;
(b) None of Chinaโs claimed land features in the Spratly Islands are an island capable of generating a 200-nm exclusive economic zone;
(c) China violated the Philippinesโ sovereign rights by interfering with Philippine oil exploration activities, prohibiting Philippine fishing vessels from operating, failing to prevent Chinese fishing vessels from operating, and conducting land reclamation in areas where the Philippines enjoys sovereign rights to explore for and exploit natural resources;
(d) China violated its marine environmental protection obligations under UNCLOS by causing โsevere harm to the coral reef environmentโ with its land reclamation activities and harvesting of endangered species.
China is legally bound by the tribunalโs ruling by virtue of its ratification of UNCLOS. But China reacted negatively to the ruling, maintaining it was โnull and void.โ
โGive that to me? Son of a bitch, thatโs just a piece of paper. Iโll throw it in the waste basket,” former President Rodrigo Duterte said in a press conference.
Duterteโs dismissal of the unanimous ruling as a piece of wastepaper is the same tenor that Beijing used to reject the ruling when it first came out.
Former Supreme Court Justice Antonio Carpio said that โthe battle to defend the nationโs EEZ from China mirrors those our forebears waged against colonizers from the 16th to the 20th century, where the countryโs best and brightest gave their lives to make the Philippines freeโ.
I was the president of the Maritime Law Association of the Philippines (MARLAW) when the WPS arbitral ruling was released in 2016.
MARLAW is an organization of lawyers and other professionals engaged in maritime practice, and helps spur the development and advancement of the interests of the various stakeholders in the Philippine maritime industry, as well as the maritime interests of the Philippines.
(Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho heads the Seafarersโ Division of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Bulilan Law Offices. For comments, e-mail info@sapalovelez.com, or call 0908-8665786.)
