Baguio unveils West Philippine Sea mural marking arbitral ruling anniversary

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines, July 16 — Baguio City on Thursday unveiled a 20-meter mural highlighting the West Philippine Sea (WPS), as local officials, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and partner government agencies marked the 10th anniversary of the 2016 arbitral award on the South China Sea.

The mural, painted along Magsaysay Avenue in Barangay Happy Homes-Old Lucban, was completed through a collaboration between artists from the Creative Baguio City Council and personnel of the 1401st Community Defense Center under the 14th Regional Community Defense Group, Reserve Command, Philippine Army, the AFP said.

Army Col. Emmanuel L. Diasen Jr., director of the 14th Regional Community Defense Group, said during the unveiling that the artwork underscores what he described as a shared responsibility among Filipinos in defending the country’s territorial interests.

“This mural reminds us that defending our national territory is not the responsibility of those living in coastal areas alone,” Diasen said in the AFP release.

Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong said the mural reflects the city’s campaign slogan, “Kaming nasa Kabundukan, may Pakialam sa Karagatan” (“We, From the Mountains, Stand for Our Seas”), emphasizing that safeguarding the country’s maritime domain is a shared responsibility that transcends geographical boundaries.

According to the AFP, planning and preparation for the project began on June 6 and the mural was completed on July 10 after 35 days of work despite intermittent weather conditions.

The unveiling formed part of activities commemorating the July 12, 2016 ruling by an international arbitral tribunal in The Hague, which invalidated China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

China has rejected the ruling, while successive Philippine administrations have maintained that the decision is legally binding.

The AFP said the mural project was supported by the Northern Luzon Command through the 1st Civil Relations Group, Civil-Military Operations Command, together with the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency-Cordillera, Joint Task Unit “Panagkaykaysa,” the Baguio City government, Boysen Paints and several national government agencies and local offices.