As one of his final acts as Foreign Affairs Secretary, Enrique Manalo has signed a resolution urging the adoption of standardized Filipino names for islands and features in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
Manalo announced the signing of National Maritime Council (NMC) Resolution No. 002 (2025), which proposes official Philippine names for 131 geographical features within the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG), also known internationally as the Spratly Islands.
This move aims to establish clarity and consistency amid ongoing territorial disputes in the South China Sea, where multiple nations—including China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan—assert overlapping claims and assign different names to the same areas, often leading to global confusion.
The naming initiative builds on a 2012 administrative order from then-President Benigno Aquino III, which designated parts of the South China Sea within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone as the “West Philippine Sea.”
This action also supports President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s 2024 executive order forming the National Maritime Council (NMC), a multi-agency body tasked with strengthening the country’s maritime policy and security.
Manalo, who steps down on June 30, will return to diplomatic service as the Philippines’ Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. He will be succeeded by DFA Undersecretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro, a key negotiator in ASEAN-China maritime talks.