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MANILA, Philippines – The damage done by the grounding of a US minesweeper in Tubbataha Reef has reached 4,000 square meters, up four times from initial baseline assessments.
Angelique Songco, Tubbataha marine park manager, said the USS Guardian flattened an estimated 4,000 square meters of the World Heritage site – almost three times the size of the arena at the Big Dome in Cubao.
She said this is just an initial assessment, with the damaged portion expected to get bigger once the USS Guardian is extricated from the area.
Republic Act 10067 or the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park Act of 2009 dictates a fine of about $300 or P12,000 per square meter of damaged area, plus another $300 per square meter for rehabilitation efforts.
The US Navy earlier promised it will make good its promise to pay the fine.
The United States government also assured a long-term commitment to the Philippine government. A US interdisciplinary scientific team is now being formed to initiate discussions with the government to review coral reef rehabilitation options in Tubbataha. – from a report by Dennis Datu, dzMM
LEADERS of the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) and Anakpawis party-list group on Monday said the $100,000 (P4.1-million) offer of the United States to help restore the corals damaged by the USS Guardian that ran aground at the Tubbataha Reef on January 17 is “extremely ridiculous” and “highly insulting.”
Salvador France, vice chairman of Pamalakaya and Fernando Hicap, chairman of Anakpawis party-list group, said the amount will never be enough to compensate for the damage caused by the USS Guardian to the UN Educational, Social and Cultural Organization-declared World Heritage Site.
“P4.1 million? Is that the price the US government will pay for the mass destruction of 130,000 hectares of Tubbataha Reef and the ‘extrajudicial killing’ of more than 300 kinds of corals and 1,500 fish species in the Unesco-declared World Heritage Site? Is that the price they will pay for violating the sovereign rights and collective patrimony of the people? The US government is really treating us either as modern day slaves or low life political animals,” a joint statement issued by the two leaders said.