P87-M compensation for Tubbataha Reef damage not enough — militant group

From GMA News (Oct 25): P87-M compensation for Tubbataha Reef damage not enough — militant group

Militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) on Saturday said the P87 million reported compensation of the United States government for the damage of the Tubbataha reef due to the grounding of minesweeper USS Guardian a year ago is not enough.

In a press statement, Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes said the fine for the US should be 12 times the initial estimate of the Philippine government.

"Comparing valuations in the 2009 grounding of the USS Port Royal in Hawaii, the petitioners peg just and reasonable compensation for the damage to Tubbataha between $16.8 and $27 million, which is still bigger than the $2 million or P87 million that we are getting," he said.

"Five years ago under similar circumstances, the US Navy paid the state of Hawaii a total of $15 million for restoration and settlement, for damage to an Oahu reef; which while larger than Tubbataha, has not been identified as a World Heritage Site. In our petition, we cited that Tubbataha’s biodiversity concentration is 2.3 times more than that of the Hawaii reef," he added.

Reyes added that aside from fines, US forces responsible for the damage should be prosecuted under Philippine laws.

With that, he also stressed that the US Navy officers would be immune from any form of accountability as the Visiting Forces Agreement has no environmental guidelines.

"Our investigators could not even conduct face-to-face interviews with the officers responsible for the grounding of the ship. We could not even prevent the crew from leaving Philippine waters so that they could face a proper investigation," he said.

"More importantly, the VFA allows an unlimited number of US vessels to enter the Philippines and conduct an unspecified range of activities. This becomes worse under EDCA (Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement) because these vessels will have their own bases in the country," he added.

On Friday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario announced that the US has agreed to pay P87 million for the damage of the Tubbataha Reef, a biodiversity-rich area.

"I received correspondence just yesterday [Thursday] that the US has agreed to pay the compensation," del Rosario said in reponse to Senator Loren Legarda's question if the US government had paid the fine for the destruction of the reefs.

Legarda asked the question at the Senate hearing on the proposed Department of Foreign Affairs budget for 2015.

For its part, Tubbataha Management Office (TMO) welcomed the news.

TMO park manager Angelique Songco said the amount would cover both the P58.4 million fine imposed by the Philippine government for the restoration of the marine park and the expenses of the Philippine Coast Guard during the salvage operations.

The coast guard sought P28 million to cover its costs, she said. It took at least 10 weeks of salvage operations to haul away pieces of the USS Guardian.

Tubbataha is a World Heritage Site in Palawan, and is one of the top scuba diving destinations globally.

Earlier this year, park management said the reefs have yet to fully recover from the damage. A long wait is expected before the once productive area again flourishes.

For his part, Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr. on Sunday said the P87 million is the figure being sought by the Philippine side as compensation for the damage to Tubbataha Reef.

However, he noted that the Palace is still waiting for the finalization of the arrangements, and that is still in the documentation stage.

The USS Guardian on January 17, 2013 ran aground at the South Atoll of the Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea, damaging at least 2,345.67 square meters of the reef area. It took at least 10 weeks for salvage operations to haul away pieces of the USS Guardian.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/385153/news/nation/p87-m-compensation-for-tubbataha-reef-damage-not-enough-militant-group