A group of fishermen and environment advocates went to the office of Governor Baham Mitra on Wednesday to demand that the 79 crew and the captain of the USS Guardian that ran aground in the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP) in January be summoned back to Palawan and be held liable for the damages to the marine protected reef.
Headed by representatives of the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya (Pamalakaya) ng Pilipinas, a national federation of small fisher folk organizations, the group submitted to Mitra its official stand on the grounding incident that resulted to the destruction of more than 4,000 square meters of coral reefs with a call to bring the USS Guardian’s crew accountable before Philippine laws.
“Nakakalungkot na hanggang sa kasalukuyan ay walang kibo ang ating gobyerno (It’s sad and pitiful that until now our government is not doing anything),” Pamalakaya vice-chairperson
The group wants to know how the government intends to hold the US Navy legally responsible on the destruction of Tubbataha Reef, which is a World Heritage Site, aside from the monetary compensation that the
“Ang nangyayari lang makikilimos lang tayo kung magkano ang willing ibayad sa atin ng
The group also believes that the monetary compensation promised by the US government will not be enough to cover the damages sustained by Tubbataha due to the grounding of the 225-foot long USS Guardian, pointing out that it could take 250 years before the destroyed corals can fully recover.
He expressed concern that this damage might be the onset of a chain reaction that would bring further damages to the reef, explaining that the corals were intricately linked.
The group fears that the country might suffer from a shortage in fish supply in the coming months as the Tubbataha reef serves as the breeding ground of the fish.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&sid=&nid=&rid=506639
It is interesting that media outlets, even government ones, rarely identify the true affiliation and agenda of the myriad CPP front organizations. Pambansang Lakas ng Mamamalakayang Pilipinas (Pamalakaya-National Federation of Small Fisherfolk Organizations in the Philippines)is a CPP front active in the fishing sector. The group is a member of the main umbrella front organization Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan-New Patriotic Alliance).
ReplyDeletePamalakaya, as with other CPP fronts is not really concerned that much with the damage to the reef as it is about discrediting the US military and the Philippine government in its propaganda attacks.
Pamalakaya, like the CPP, seeks the abrogation of the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) as well as the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) between the two countries. That is its true agenda and that is why the group continues with its efforts to undermine the RP-US military-to-military relationship.