souce: www.abs-cbnnews.com
MANILA
- MalacaƱang said the Philippine government will still impose fines and ask for
compensation from the United States government over the damage of Tubbataha
Reef even if it has given assistance for coral restoration efforts.
Presidential
spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said a final assessment of the damage will be done
after the USS Guardian is extricated.
“That’s
not compensation, that’s assistance. We still have to determine the amount of
fines that are going to be imposed based on a final assessment on the damage
caused to the reef and that has not been done yet,” Lacierda said.
“They’re
going to do that over and above the fines that we are going to impose based on
the law that we have in place. And certainly we have seen their commitment to
preserving the reef as part of their ongoing efforts, previous efforts, and
certainly these are acknowledgments of the importance of the richness of the
biodiversity that is found in Tubbataha Reef.”
The
Guardian became grounded on the Tubbataha Reef, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in
a remote part of the Sulu Sea, on January 17.
The
badly damaged minesweeper will need to be dismantled before it is removed.
The
US Navy had previously said the boat, which has a wood and fibreglass hull, was
too badly damaged to be towed away.
Thousands
of litres of oil on board the Guardian have been removed but the vessel is
being battered by huge waves, causing it to gouge a destructive trail along the
reef, according to superintendent of the Tubbataha marine park Angelique Songco.
She
said dismantling the ship would further damage the reef but letting it remain
there longer would lead to even more harm.
The
US Navy has repeatedly apologised for the incident but has refused to explain
publicly why the Guardian was sailing so close to the reef.
This
has fueled anger over the incident in the Philippines, a former American colony
and important US ally in the Asia-Pacific region.
Vessels
sailing into the marine park need permission, but Philippine authorities said
the crew of the Guardian had made no request to enter and had even ignored
radio messages from government rangers that it was about to hit the reef. --
with Agence France-Presse
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