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Duterte renames Benham Rise
(Photo: Oceana Philippines/Facebook.com)
President Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order 25, officially renaming Benham Rise to Philippine Rise.
EO 25 orders the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority to use the name “Philippine Rise” instead of “Benham Rise” in official maps and other documents that include the area.
The area was awarded to the Philippines when the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf approved the submissions of the country with respect to the limits of its continental shelf in the area on April 12, 2012.
Recognition from the UN Commission enables the Philippines to enjoy exclusive rights to explore and develop the underwater plateau, 250 kilometers east of Dinapigue, Isabela.
The area was named after Andrew Benham, an American Admiral, and geologist who discovered the area in 1933.
