The Philippine government assured the public Monday that it would be claiming for damages from the US government for whatever destruction its minesweeper USS Guardian has caused in Tubbataha Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“Yes, I assume it is clearly in the Tubbataha Law, it is incumbent for government to file for such claim,” Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said at a press briefing in Malacañang.
Asked if the US has given assurance that it will pay for the damages, Abaya said “as a responsible nation and state and a strong ally of the Philippines, I assume it goes without saying.”
The USS Guardian, which just completed a port call in Subic Bay, ran aground on the reef in Sulu Sea on Thursday on its way to Indonesia. It was supposed to proceed to East Timor for a training exercise, the US Navy said.
This is not the first time that a large vessel has run aground in the remote reefs located in the middle of the Sulu Sea, which are frequented by liveaboard dive boats during the summer months from March to May.
In 2005, the ship Rainbow Warrior of the environmental group Greenpeace also hit Tubbataha, damaging corals that covered a total area of 32 meters by 3 meters (105 x 10 feet) of the reef. Greenpeace paid a fine of 384,000 pesos (US$6,857) for the damage, according to a report in the group's website.
Greenpeace said the government chart they were using had shown them to be 1.5 miles away from the reef when the vessel ran aground at the time.
P12,000 per square meter valuation
The USS Guardian, which just completed a port call in Subic Bay, ran aground on the reef in Sulu Sea on Thursday on its way to Indonesia. It was supposed to proceed to East Timor for a training exercise, the US Navy said.
This is not the first time that a large vessel has run aground in the remote reefs located in the middle of the Sulu Sea, which are frequented by liveaboard dive boats during the summer months from March to May.
In 2005, the ship Rainbow Warrior of the environmental group Greenpeace also hit Tubbataha, damaging corals that covered a total area of 32 meters by 3 meters (105 x 10 feet) of the reef. Greenpeace paid a fine of 384,000 pesos (US$6,857) for the damage, according to a report in the group's website.
Greenpeace said the government chart they were using had shown them to be 1.5 miles away from the reef when the vessel ran aground at the time.
P12,000 per square meter valuation
Abaya said the main focus now of the Philippine and US governments is the taking out of the USS Guardian in order to minimize further damage to the Tubbataha Reef.
“Once the ship is pulled out then assessing the damage to reef or whatever damage in species or habitat or breeding area will likewise be done. The DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) should play a key role here, then from there on probably claims would then follow,” he said.
He added that the cause of the grounding will be a separate issue, and the damage on the reef and whatever claims the government would be given more focus.
“I haven't read the law but the law doesn't distinguish whether it is negligence or inadvertent or intentional. What is clear in the law is that we can claim for damages, not really looking into as to the intent or how it happened,” said Abaya.
In a previous interview with GMA News Online, Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau director Theresa Mundita Lim said the assessment of the damage will depend on the condition and extent of coral cover in the affected area.
"As of now, ang na-peg na value sa losses… [is] P12,000 per square meter,” she said. "May baseline information tayo sa Tubbataha so ibig sabihin mas madaling malaman kung ano talaga ‘yung na-damage.”
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