DFA says it will pursue claims over USS Guardian grounding on Tubbataha

From InterAksyon (Sep 17): DFA says it will pursue claims over USS Guardian grounding on Tubbataha



The Department of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday said it will continue discussions with the United States government on compensation for the damage caused by the grounding of an American Navy ship on Tubbataha Reef.

At the same time, the DFA said it will abide by the Supreme Court decision rejecting a petition for a writ of amparo against the crew of the American minesweeper and seeking around $27 million for the damage it wrought to the World Heritage site last year.

"We will continue our ongoing discussions with the US government on the matter of securing full compensation for the damage caused to the Tubbataha Reef, and will be guided by the Supreme Court decision and the advice of the Office of the Solicitor General," the DFA said in a statement.

On Tuesday, the high court said the claim for damages should be pursued through a civil suit and not a petition for a writ of kalikasan.

It also said it is Malacanang that should demand compensation from the US government for the damage to more than 2,300 square meters of the reef, which marine experts say will take decades to recover.

"The Court deferred to the Executive branch noting that the conduct of foreign relations of the government is committed by the Constitution to the political departments of the government and the propriety of what may be done in the exercise of this political power is not subject to judicial inquiry or decision," the SC ruling said.

The petitioners based their claim for compensation on the 2009 grounding of the USS Port Royal in Hawaii as they criticized the Philippine government’s claim of

$1.4 million based on the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park Act of 2009.

The law pegs the penalty at P12,000 per square meter for damage to the reef and a similar amount for rehabilitation.

The DFA also said it will continue working with other government agencies "to enhance navigational safety in the area and preserve the reef and its marine environment."

The USS Guardian ran aground on Tubbataha on January 17 last year as it sailed to Indonesia from Subic Bay.

It was finally dismantled and removed in early April.

US Ambassador Philip Goldberg earlier said a compensation package will be announced after his government finishes its review of the Philippine claim prepared by the Department of Environment and National Defense and the Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park.

The claim was filed under the US Foreign Claims Act enacted in 1942 to provide compensation for inhabitants of foreign countries for personal injury, death or property damage because of noncombatant activities by US military personnel overseas.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/95581/dfa-says-it-will-pursue-claims-over-uss-guardian-grounding-on-tubbataha