Palace: Final figure on Tubbataha damage to be known after ship removal

January 27, 2013 1:35pm

Malacañang expects to get a better idea of how much the United States government owes the Philippines in fines for the damage caused by the USS Guardian on Tubbataha Reef, once the ship is removed from the area.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said earlier reports that 1,000 square meters of coral reef had been damaged is just an initial assessment.

“As of the moment wala pang firm figure diyan. What we know now is according to the task force that is there... may 1,000 square meters, ito ang baseline assessment of the damage. Hindi pa natatanggal ang vessel, that may change after the vessel is extricated," she said on government-run dzRB radio.

“Ang aking alam ang fine tumatayo sa $300 per square meter...," she added.

The USS Guardian “wandered” into and ran aground at Tubbataha Reef last Jan. 17, causing damage to coral reefs in the area. Tubbataha is a UNESCO Heritage Site.

President Benigno Aquino III had said an apology alone may not be enough for the US government to fix the damage caused by the grounding of the USS Guardian at Tubbataha Reef.

In an interview with reporters covering his visit to Switzerland, Aquino said the US will have to comply with Philippine laws with regards to the incident.

“They’re showing you they respect us as a sovereign state, and we’d like to thank them (that) they are respecting our sovereignty and are very careful about our sensitivities. But that doesn’t exempt them from having to comply with our laws,” he said.

“They violated it, there are penalties. Then they will have to address all of these violations of our pertinent laws,” he added.

Aquino also said he wants to know how the ship, with its sophisticated navigation systems, managed to get into a protected area.

For now, he said the priority is to remove the ship, then to assess the damage. — LBG, GMA News