US to pay for damaged reef (Philippine official)

The 87 million pesos (about $1.94 million) that the Philippines has been asking from the United States as payment for the damage caused by its Navy ship on a marine sanctuary is now on the "documentation stage," a senior government official said Saturday.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the 87 million pesos were the amount of compensation that the Philippine government sought from the US after USS Guardian, a minesweeper ship of America, ran aground on the south atoll of the Tubbataha Reefs off western Philippine province of Palawan in January 2013.

"According to Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, the coordination of the two countries regarding the compensation for the damage caused to Tubbataha Reefs has been on documentation stage," he said.

Coloma said the Philippine government would just await for the documentation to be completed and for the finalization of the compensation.

USS Guardian damaged 2,345 square meters of coral in Tubbataha Reefs, which was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization in 1993.
Sources: Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
26/10/14
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• Philippines to pursue compensation from US on reef damage

Philippines to pursue compensation from US on reef damage

The Philippine government vowed Wednesday to continue seeking compensation from the United States for the damage caused by its navy ship to parts of a protected marine reserve.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) issued a statement a day after the Supreme Court junked a petition by environmental groups for a writ of kalikasan (nature) against the minesweeper USS Guardian that ran aground in the Tubbataha Reef in January 2013.

"We will continue our ongoing discussions with the US government on the matter of securing full compensation for the damage caused to the Tubbataha Reef, and will be guided by the Supreme Court decision and the advice of the Office of the Solicitor General," the DFA said.

The department said it will also continue to work with other government agencies to enhance navigational safety in the protected marine sanctuary and preserve the reef and its marine environment.

The SC ruled that it has no jurisdiction over the petition filed by several groups calling on the court for the issuance of a writ of kalikasan for possible criminal, civil and administrative prosecution of American Navy officials responsible for the grounding incident.

The high court instead deferred to the executive branch the matter of seeking compensation and rehabilitation of the damaged area of Tubbataha Reef from the US.
Sources: Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
17/9/14
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