The president and chief executive of the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) confirmed Monday that a Chinese ship that docked in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, is involved in seismic mapping in the disputed Spratlys Group of Islands in the South China Sea.
PNOC President Antonio Cailao said the Nan Hai 502 is one of three vessels owned by China Oilfield Services Limited, which won the bid to gather data for the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) among the Philippines, Vietnam and China.
"There’s a ship. At least three ships are involved in gathering data. It's a mapping... that's what these ships do. Whether they dock in Palawan for fueling or wherever is another matter. But their activity is limited to gathering of data in the area of JMSU. Now, presumably when they run out of fuel or they have to feed the people, they have to go elsewhere, and the nearest island is maybe Palawan island," Cailao told ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC).
Cailao's confirmation of the presence of the ship in Puerto Princesa came in the wake of JMSU critics who are questioning the Spratlys deal, saying it violates the constitutional provision that limits exploration and the use of natural resources in the Philippines to Filipinos.
"There are two questions that arise. If it is exploration, then the participants must be 60 percent Filipino-owned," said Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo.
Ocampo added President Arroyo should also have informed Congress within 30 days after the signing of the JMSU agreement.
"It is on these two counts that we are calling for investigations and to determine whether the executive has violated the constitution," Ocampo said.
The probe, according to Ocampo, will have to wait until April 21 since Congress is on a five-week recess.
"Before we adjourned, the plenary gave authority to the standing and special committees to conduct hearings during the break period. We'll have to find out whether the committee on foreign affairs, defense, energy and natural resources, would call a joint hearing on this matter as called for by the resolutions and the decisions of the plenary," he said.
The Arroyo administration maintains the JMSU is only a pre-exploration activity.
PNOC: JMSU does not violate law
The Philippines, Vietnam, and China have until July 1, 2008 to finish the second phase of the three-year JMSU agreement.
The ship in Puerto Princesa, shown in a video footage shot over the weekend by ABS-CBN News, was fitted to check for potential oil and gas.
Last week, the PNOC admitted that the study is already 70 percent complete.
Under the JMSU agreement, China will lead in data gathering, Vietnam will take care of data processing and the Philippines will interpret the data.
Cailao, however, said that even if the results of the study are good, it does not guarantee the presence of oil and gas in the area.
Cailao also said that even if the area of the study is within Philippine territory, no law or constitutional provision has been violated.
The PNOC stressed that the Philippines won't be able to mine the oil or gas without the help from other countries.
ABS-CBN News was able to take footages of the ship, which was docked at the port of Puerto Princesa despite tight security.
Port officials tried to prevent an ABS-CBN News team from taking footages of the ship from the dock. The team also tried to get an interview with the ship's crew, but they declined.
Onboard a rented fishing boat, ABS-CBN News was then able to take footages of the ship and its seismic survey equipment.
Aside from footage of the Chinese vessel docked off Palawan, ABS-CBN News was also able to get a map of the JMSU of the three countries in the disputed Spratlys.
The map shows the area where oil may be extracted, which includes an area near Palawan.-- With reports from Henry Omaga-Diaz and Alvin Elchico, ABS-CBN News