From the Manila Standard Today (Jan 28): Tubbataha suit pushed
The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas and Anakpawis called for the filing of a “millennium class suit” amid the environmental damage caused by USS Guardian after it ran aground Tubbataha Reef last Jan. 17. “It will take a year for one millimeter of the mostly hard corals damaged in Tubbataha’s south to go back to its sound condition and about 250 years for a meter of the corals to mature,” said Fernando Hicap, Pamalakaya chairman, citing marine experts.
The alliance of fishing communities and Anakpawis party list said Manila and Washington have yet to agree on the damage done to the UNESCO heritage site and its 360 species of corals that serve as breeding ground of 1,500 fish species as well. Hicap said the destruction of the Tubbataha habitat being a major fishing area would setback supply significantly. He said fish production in West Palawan Sea and Sulu-Celebes Sea is estimated at 800,000 metric tons per year.
Hicap, also Anakpawis vice chairman, of Anakpawis party list said the class suit should demand the US government a considerable amount for claims following the destruction of fishing grounds. “We don’t know at this time how much the fisherfolk should demand from Washington,” said Hicap, also Nakapawis vice chairman. “Is it 100 billion in peso currency or in dollars? We don’t know yet.”
He also called on Malacanang to prevent a repeat of the ecological mishap by revoking the Visiting Forces Agreement and the Mutual Defense Treaty with the US.
Hicap said an expression of regret was inadequate for the harm done. “Whether US ambassador Harry Thomas is sincere or not in issuing that apology remains to be seen,” he said. “We deserve (more) than just a press release.” On Friday, the embassy issued a statement to the media amid reports of fuel leak amid other salvor concerns.
http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/01/28/tubbataha-suit-pushed/
CPP front group leader continues propaganda attack against the U.S. over the Tubbataha incident.
ReplyDeleteFernando Hicap is a long-tme CPP front group leader associated mainly with PAMALAKAYA (Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas--National Federation of Small Fisherfolk Organizations in the Philippines), a CPP front active in the fishing sector. PAMALAKAYA is a member of the main CPP umbrella front organization BAYAN (Bagong Alyansang Makabyan--New Patriotic Alliance)
More recently he has become a key official in the CPP-linked party-list political party Anakpawis (literally means children of sweat but is more broadly translated as "masses"). The party represents the labor, fisherfolk, and urban poor sectors.