UP Community Says Save Tubbataha Junk VFA
January 30, 2013
January 30, 2013
Concerned members of the University of the Philippines
(UP) Diliman community express outrage over the wanton damage of the Tubbataha
Reef by the USS Guardian, a US mine sweeper that initially docked at Subic last
January 12 and was supposed to make a stopover at Puerto Princesa City before
going to Indonesia.
The Tubbataha Reef, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1993, is part of the Coral Triangle which contains at least 40% of the world fish and 75% of the world’s coral. It also serves as one of the key sources of coral and fish larvae of the greaterSulu Sea which sustains
the fishing activity in the surrounding area. (Source:
http://tubbatahareef.org/wp/global_ecological_significance)
US US
That the US Navy will only be fined US$300 (or roughly PhP12,000) for every damaged square meter is unacceptable even if it may be legal. The Coral Reef is priceless and its damage is made worse by the blatant and arrogant disregard of theUS
First, the warship ignored the warning of the Park Rangers that they were entering a protected area and should not proceed. Instead theUS
Second, when the ship ran aground, the crew prevented the Park Rangers from boarding the ship by going into a battle formation.
This is not the first time thatUS
brought harm to our people and our environment and encroached on our sovereignty. TheUS has not
yet cleaned up the toxic wastes that they left in Subic and Clark
since 1992. Just recently, a US Naval contractor dumped solid and human waste
in the vicinity of Subic Bay . Drone and
missile testing is being done inside our territory. The New York Times reported
the admission by US officials that in 2006 an American Predator unmanned aerial
vehicle, or drone, fired a “barrage of Hellfire missiles” in the “jungles of
the Philippines US drone
was discovered floating off the island
of Masbate Philippines
US military forces, battle ships, and warplanes can move around Philippine territory and do damage to the people and environment with impunity because of the Visiting Forces Agreement.
It is in this light that concerned members of the UP Diliman community strongly call on the Aquino administration to make the US Navy accountable for the damage to the Tubbataha Reef and to assert thePhilippines
We renew our call to abrogate the Visiting Forces Agreement. This call is consistent with the patriotic tradition of the University of thePhilippines
Save the Tubbataha Reef!
US Troops Out Now!
Junk the Visiting Forces Agreement
The Tubbataha Reef, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1993, is part of the Coral Triangle which contains at least 40% of the world fish and 75% of the world’s coral. It also serves as one of the key sources of coral and fish larvae of the greater
That the US Navy will only be fined US$300 (or roughly PhP12,000) for every damaged square meter is unacceptable even if it may be legal. The Coral Reef is priceless and its damage is made worse by the blatant and arrogant disregard of the
First, the warship ignored the warning of the Park Rangers that they were entering a protected area and should not proceed. Instead the
Second, when the ship ran aground, the crew prevented the Park Rangers from boarding the ship by going into a battle formation.
This is not the first time that
brought harm to our people and our environment and encroached on our sovereignty. The
US military forces, battle ships, and warplanes can move around Philippine territory and do damage to the people and environment with impunity because of the Visiting Forces Agreement.
It is in this light that concerned members of the UP Diliman community strongly call on the Aquino administration to make the US Navy accountable for the damage to the Tubbataha Reef and to assert the
We renew our call to abrogate the Visiting Forces Agreement. This call is consistent with the patriotic tradition of the University of the
Save the Tubbataha Reef!
US Troops Out Now!
Junk the Visiting Forces Agreement
Kalikasan, Kabataan, and the UP Alliance are all CPP-affiliated front groups. Looks like a handfull of UP professors and their students engaged in anti-U.S./Anti-VFA protest action.
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