Philippines Reaffirms its Commitment to Ratify BBNJ Agreement and Promote its Effective Implementation

DA-BFAR Undersecretary Drusila Esther E. Bayate speaking at the BBNJ side event entitled “Celebrating High Seas Progress: The Race for Ratification and Impending Entry into Force of the High Seas Treaty!”

NICE 02 July 2025 – The Philippines reaffirmed its commitment to the early ratification and entry into force of the Agreement on the Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), in its participation in various side events co-sponsored by the Philippines and organized by the international organization High Seas Alliance (HSA) at the Third United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC3), which was held on 9-13 June 2025 in Nice, France.

This Philippine advocacy for the BBNJ Agreement, also commonly referred to as the High Seas Treaty, was articulated by the Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) Undersecretary Drusila Esther E. Bayate during a high-level side event entitled “Celebrating High Seas Progress: The Race for Ratification and Impending Entry into Force of the High Seas Treaty!”, and co-sponsored by Belgium, Chile, Costa Rica, France, EU, Germany, Korea, Nigeria, Maldives, Palau, the Philippines, and Seychelles, held on 09 June 2025 at the UNOC3 Blue Zone. This side event provided a venue for participants to highlight the progress their countries have made towards the ratification of the BBNJ Agreement, as well as their respective domestic initiatives to promote the agreement’s prompt and effective implementation, in line with the thrust for achieving the first 60 ratifications of the BBNJ Agreement at the 3rd UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France.

Undersecretary Bayate underscored that the Philippines was among the first signatories of the BBNJ Agreement in 2023 and has since ratified the international convention. The agreement is currently undergoing the concurrence process of the Philippine Senate, in accordance with the 1987 Philippine Constitution, after which the country’s instrument of ratification can already be deposited with the UN.

In another side event, entitled “From Treaty to Action: Multi-Stakeholder Cooperation for the High Seas,” which was held on 11 June 2025 at the UNOC3 Green Zone, Assistant Secretary Marshall Louis M. Alferez highlighted the roles of developing countries to ensure a more transparent and inclusive implementation of the BBNJ Agreement, noting that the Philippines has strongly advocated the effective and early implementation of the BBNJ Agreement.

He recalled the active participation of the Philippines in the preparatory meetings for the first Conference of Parties to the BBNJ Agreement, including the Preparatory Committee Organizational Meeting in New York in June 2024 and the First Preparatory Commission in New York in March 2025, during which the Philippines actively called for the promotion of the principles of flexibility, transparency and inclusivity through genuine participation in the COP, especially of least developed countries and small island developing states. 

The BBNJ Agreement is a legally binding document that would provide for effective mechanisms for establishing marine protected areas (MPAs) or a global coordination mechanism to assess the environmental impacts of activities like deep seabed mining and marine scientific research, in the High Seas. It is the third implementing agreement of the 1982 UNCLOS.

Since its inception in 2011, the HSA has been working towards the protection of the high seas, which is considered the most biologically diverse and important but least protected and most critically threatened ecosystems in the world. HSA has emphasized the leadership roles of Asian countries in the BBNJ Agreement, particularly noting how the Philippines has “always been active in the negotiation of the Treaty and a champion of conservation in the region.” END 

DFA Assistant Secretary Marshall Louis M. Alferez speaking at the BBNJ side event entitled “From Treaty to Action: Multi-Stakeholder Cooperation for the High Seas.”  

DFA Assistant Secretary Marshall Louis M. Alferez with DFA personnel and civil society partners