Marcos EO 111 Publicly Announced: Philippines to Use Official Philippine Names for 131 Spratly Features

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s Executive Order No. 111, which he signed on March 26, 2026, was officially released and made public on March 31, mandating all Philippine government agencies use official Philippine names for 131 maritime features in the Kalayaan Island Group (the Philippine name for its claimed portion of the Spratly Islands). Education agencies — the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and TESDA — were directed to integrate the Philippine-designated names into school curricula at all levels. Of the 131 features covered by the order: the Philippines occupies 9, China occupies 8 (including Mischief Reef within the Philippines' EEZ), and Vietnam and Malaysia occupy others. The EO was framed as a sovereign assertion consistent with the Philippines' position that the West Philippine Sea is Philippine territory, and was seen as a deliberate sovereign counterpoint to China's simultaneous claims. China had not issued a formal public response by day's end.