MANILA -- The United States government has promised to pay in cash the compensation for the damage caused by its stalled Navy ship on the Tubbataha reef, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Monday.
"The US government will pay [the] appropriate compensation to the Philippines for the damage caused by [the grounding of the] USS Guardian [on the Tubbataha Reef]," Raul Hernandez, Foreign Affairs spokesman, said in a press briefing.
In addition to the payment of compensation, which is about P58 million for the 2,300-square meter damage on Tubbataha, the US government will also be providing "service program" for the protection of the reef and the marine environment, Hernandez said.
"The US government will cooperate with the Philippine government to ensure navigational safety is enhanced in the area," he said.
"The Philippine government officials, the US Embassy and officials from the US government agreed to pay the compensation," Hernandez said, downplaying reports that the US has offered to compensate the damages by providing a "second hand" aircraft that it used during the war in Afghanistan.
"The commitment is they will pay [to] compensate the Philippines because of the damage caused by USS Guardian," he added.
Although the US Navy has already spent more than P1 billion on salvage operations, the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park Act of 2009 requires them to pay about P12,000 per square meter of damaged reef and another P12,000 per square meter for the rehabilitation.
Hernandez, however, refused to comment if the same payment will be required from the Chinese vessel that also recently ran aground in the Tubbataha Reef.
"That is being undertaken by the port in Puerto Princesa," the official said.
Meantime, the Philippine Maritime Casualty Investigation Team (MCIT) will finalize and soon release the findings of its separate inquiry into the grounding of the USS Guardian on the Tubbataha Reef in January.
The DFA said the team will finish the investigation after the second and last meeting with the US Navy investigators last April 18 at the Operations Center of the US 7th Fleet Coordination Group at its naval base in Yokosuka, Japan.
During the meeting, the six-member MCIT received additional documents from the US Navy investigators.
The MCIT is formed under the auspices of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to determine the cause of the grounding of the USS Guardian on the north side of the reef's south shoal on January 17.
It took almost three months before the salvage operations team was able to remove the ship from the Unesco World Heritage Site. But by then, the damage has already spread to about 2,300 square meters.
"The inquiry also aims to identify new measures that may be undertaken by the Philippines and the US to prevent such grounding from happening again on the Tubbataha Reefs," the Foreign Affairs department said.
The US Navy officials also informed the MCIT that the final report on their investigation of the grounding of the USS Guardian will be released soon. (CVB/Sunnex)
