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With the ongoing territorial dispute, doing this may help us stake our claim on what’s rightfully ours.
“The Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino (KWF) is working on a new version of the Philippine map — and it will not only include Scarborough Shoal (native names: Panatag Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc) as part of the country’s territory but also identify each of the contested islands by their names during the Spanish era,” reports Evelyn Macairan in The Philippine Star.
KWF chairman Virgilio Almario — a National Artist for Literature — explained that the group hopes to issue the new map within the year. He said they would be coordinating with the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) for the project. As soon as it’s available, the new Philippine map may be viewed on the KWF website.
Almario pointed out that “by using the native names of the disputed islands, Almario said Filipinos would be able to provide proper references to them, aside from stressing the Philippines’ sovereignty over the territories.”
“If I would be able to do it my way, I would look for the original name of some of these islands so that we would be using their real names. For instance, the Scarborough Shoal, who would believe that it is owned by the Philippines… They have native names so we should do research,” said Almario.
Indeed, as Almario also noted, Beijing uses Chinese names for the islands to emphasize their territorial claim.
Almario said there’s still a need “to conduct research using maps available during the Spanish period.”
Photo: Dreamstime.com
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