What’s in a name? Scarborough, Panatag or Bajo de Masinloc?

By: Christine O. Avendaño | Philippine Daily Inquirer

April 29, 2012 / 01:14 AM (PHT)
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/184321/whats-in-a-name-scarborough-panatag-or-bajo-de-
masinloc

Should the Philippines call the shoal by its local name or should it refer to it by its international
name since its dispute with China is an international controversy?

Manila has three names for it: Scarborough Shoal, Panatag Shoal and Bajo de Masinloc.
Zambales fishermen call it simply as Karburo.

China has only one name for it, Huangyan Island, and uses this name even for international
communication.

The shoal’s international name is Scarborough Shoal, which international news wire services
and the Philippines’ major newspapers use.

Asked about it in an interview on dzRB radio yesterday, deputy presidential spokesperson

Abigail Valte said both the government and the press used Scarborough Shoal, the “more
familiar name” that appears on world maps.

She noted, however, that the shoal is also called Panatag Shoal, the name she prefers to use.

But the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has of late been referring to the shoal as Bajo de
Masinloc, which, according to Valte, is the shoal’s “legal” or “formal” name.

“You know, I’m not aware if we have a preference,” Valte said. “For us in the communication
group, it’s what is most understandable,” she said.

Which is?

Valte said she would ask her superiors whether the government had a preferred name for the
shoal.

But the press can decide how to call the shoal, Valte said, citing as an example the wide use in
the press of West Philippine Sea as a reference to the South China Sea.

For nearly three weeks now, Chinese maritime ships are facing off with Philippine civilian
vessels at Scarborough Shoal as China and the Philippines stand firm on their rival claims to the
group of rock formations 124 nautical miles (220 kilometers) west of Zambales province. That is
well within the Philippines’ 330-kilometer exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but China ignores it,
insisting on its claim to all of the South China Sea.

The Senate opened an inquiry into the standoff on Friday, and yesterday Malacañang thanked
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile for calling on the nation to rally behind President Aquino in
asserting the Philippines’ sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea.

“We appreciate that statement from the Senate President,” Valte said.