Malacañang has surrendered to pressure and decided to furnish Congress a copy of the country’s Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) with China and Vietnam in the Spratly Group of Islands, ABS-CBN News reported Thursday.

Sergio Apostol, chief presidential legal counsel, said the Palace has greenlighted the Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. (PNOC-EC) to hand over a copy of the controversial agreement.

“We agreed that PNOC-EC will furnish two committees in the House and Senate copies of JMSU with an admonition they should respect confidentiality clause because it’s a commercial contract,” he said.

The JMSU is an agreement between China, the Philippines and Vietnam to test a portion of the disputed Spratlys Islands for possible oil reserves.

Apostol, however said it is up to PNOC-EC to decide when it would release a copy to Congress.

He also said the JMSU can not be divulged to the public since it is a commercial contract.

“Each country is claiming a part of that area. This is a commercial contract, [that is why] you don’t reveal to the public,” said Apostol.
 
He also denied reports that the JMSU has authorized the signatories to conduct oil exploration and not merely pre-exploration in Spratlys. The reports were culled by ABS-CBN from Chinese media and the Website of the Chinese company that signed the agreement.

“No -- it’s only seismic studies pre-exploration,” said Apostol.

He added that the Philippine government is likely to enter a new agreement that will replace JMSU since it is nearing its expiration.

This time, he said, the Philippine government will be pressing for earnings from possible oil retrieval.

Apostol also said that the government will also urge signing parties to respect a provision of the Philippine Constitution which indicated that the country should enjoy a 60 percent share in royalties from the income of the project.