JMSU deal under review

MANILA, Philippines – Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes reported yesterday that the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) forged by the Philippines with China and Vietnam had expired last July 1 and is now under review.

Reyes told the House appropriations committee, which is reviewing the energy department’s proposed P1-billion budget for 2009, that the JMSU is now under study because it has serious implications on the government.

“It (JMSU) was signed three years ago and it ended July 1 this year. It lapsed. The work is not yet finished. The matter is now under consideration, it is under study,” Reyes told Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, who inquired about the status of the agreement.

Reyes refused to give a categorical answer on whether the government is bent on renewing the deal, pointing out that it is a highly sensitive issue that needs to be deliberated on by the entire Cabinet.

“This problem has multi dimensions to it. It’s a foreign policy issue, a legal issue, a national security issue and a natural resource issue. It’s multi-dimensional so we have to do it with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Department of Justice. The Cabinet as a whole, acts as a whole,” Reyes said.

“I can’t speak for the government, I can only speak for the DOE. I will discuss it with the decision makers. We (in the DOE) only provide the inputs,” he said. “As a Cabinet member, I only have an official position, not a personal position.”

Journalists earlier learned that the JMSU contract has a five-year “confidentiality” clause, which prohibits the parties – China, Philippines and Vietnam – from disclosing details within the period.

This was discovered in a letter that Cebu Rep. Antonio Cuenco, chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the House of Representatives, sent to the DFA during the deliberation over House Bill 3216 or the RP Baselines bill.

In a letter dated May 5, Cuenco requested Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo to seek the “consent and approval” of China and Vietnam.

“We take note of a provision in said agreement, which states that: This agreement and all relevant documents, information, data and reports with respect to the JMSU shall be kept confidential during the agreement term and within five years after its expiration and shall not be disclosed by a party to any other party without written consent of the rest of the parties,” Cuenco wrote.

“In view of this provision, we would like to request our DFA to seek the consent and approval of the People’s Republic of China and Vietnam regarding the public disclosure of the contents of the JMSU during our House inquiry,” he added.

Cuenco said the House could not start its investigation without the permission of the other countries involved in JMSU.

“We cannot discuss this issue because all allegations referred to the document itself. All issues revolved around the agreement.”

Former Philippine National Oil Corp. chairman Eduardo Manalac submitted the document to the Cuenco panel.

The JMSU probe had been referred to the House committees on foreign affairs, energy, and national defense.

Speaker Prospero Nograles confirmed that it would be risky for the House to start its investigation without seeking permission from the other parties concerned, namely the governments of China and Vietnam.

Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo, son of Foreign Affairs Secretary Romulo, said that providing archipelagic baselines is not the way to claim a territory, just like in the disputed Spratlys islands.