Press Release - Tolentino urges OSG to form a specialized unit to focus on maritime issues, conflicts in the West Philippine Sea

To strengthen the government's capability to handle international maritime disputes, especially with the increasing aggression of China in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), Senate Majority Leader Francis 'Tol' Tolentino renewed his push for the creation of a specialized unit of public prosecutors that will focus on admiralty and maritime cases.

The proposal was raised by Tolentino at the Senate hearing on the proposed 2025 budget of the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday (August 28).

Tolentino, who chairs the Senate Special Committee on Maritime and Admiralty Zones, asked Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra about the status of the specialized unit, which the senator had been advocating in the agency's annual budget deliberations since 2022.

"In the last two years, this representation has continuously been reminding the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), in fact, short of begging your office to create a special unit that would really focus on maritime claims, ship collision and allision, maritime insurance, oil spills...and cases of harassment and bullying within our Exclusive Economic Zone. Has this been done?" Tolentino asked Guevarra.

He added: "From what I know, you've been resorting to hiring outside counsel. And so if it is our intention to hire an admiralty lawyer for every harassment case, then why not form a special admiralty unit within the OSG?"

In response, Guevarra said that an ad hoc team of OSG lawyers has been assisting different task forces of the government handling various international concerns. These issues, he noted, include the West Philippine Sea, International Criminal Court, state-to-state arbitration, and international arbitration and disputes, among others.

Guevarra added that the lawyers assigned to these task forces continuously undergo training on international law both here and abroad.

He agreed with Tolentino's concern on the hiring of outside lawyers. "We have noticed a large amount of public funds being spent on foreign counsel assisting us in international litigation and arbitration," admitted Guevarra.

"To address this, we have provided our lawyers with foreign scholarships, fellowship training, and participation in