US agrees to pay P87M for damage to Tubbataha Reef

By AMITA O. LEGASPI, GMA News

Published October 24, 2014 2:23pm

The United States has agreed to pay P87 million for the widespread damage one of its mineweepers caused at the Tubbataha Reef after it ran aground in the biodiversity-rich area in January 2013, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario said on Friday.

In a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Finance, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario said the Department of Foreign Affairs received the communication from US officials on Thursday.

“I received correspondence just yesterday that the US has agreed to pay the compensation,” Del Rosario said after Senator Loren Legarda asked if the US government had paid the fine for the destruction of the reefs.

“What is being done at this time is that documentation is being prepared,” he added.

Del Rosario said that it was "an inter-agency mechanism" that determined the amount of compensation the Philippines would demand from the US.

The USS Guardian on January 17, 2013 hit 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.

Fair amount

The Tubbataha Management Office (TMO) welcomed the news.

"Sobrang tuwa po namin kasi sa wakas, 'di ba? Masaya kaming maisasara na itong matter na ito. Ang dami rin kasing ginastos," TMO park manager Angelique Songco told GMA News Online.

"I think it's fair," Songco said when asked if the payment was enough.

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.

Basis for the fine

The Tubbataha Protected Area Management Board (TPAMB) earlier informed the US Embassy, the US Navy and the DFA of the violations committed against the Tubbataha Reef National Park Law and the corresponding penalties.

"For the violation of the Law (RA 10067), the TPAMB is levying a fine of $1.4 million (P58.3 million) for coral damage and other violations. These include infringement of Section 19 (Unauthorized entry), Section 20 (Damages to the reef), Section 21 (Non-payment of conservation fees), Section 26g (Destroying, disturbing resources) and Section 30 (Obstruction of Law Enforcement Officers) of RA 10067," it said.

US Ambassador Philip Goldberg in September said that an announcement would be made “soon” by the US government regarding the compensation for the damage to the reef.

“We are going through the last phase of the review. You know whenever something like this happens, it requires various legal and other review and I am convinced that very soon, we will have an announcement to make,” Goldberg said in a news forum last month. —with Rose-An Jessica Dioquino/NB/KBK, GMA News

Tags: tubbatahareef, ussguardian