Chiz to US: pay
P58-M reef penalty in cash, not kind
By Office of Senator Chiz
Escudero
April 25, 2013
PASAY CITY – The United
States government should pay up in cash on the P58 million penalty
imposed on the US Navy vessel that ran aground and caused damage in
the World Heritage site Tubbataha Reef while at the same time called
on the government to reject US suggestions to settle its obligations
in kind.
“I insist that the US
government pays up in cash, the suggestion that they would settle
their obligations through donations or aid loans are not acceptable.
They should follow what the Philippine law required for the incident,”
he said.
“Even if the return from the
offer to pay in kind would be bigger than the actual fine, it remains
unacceptable since what is provided in the law should be followed,”
Escudero said.
Agreeing to the US
government suggestion that it provide aid instead of paying a fine is
equivalent to accepting that the USS Guardian should not be held
accountable for the destruction it caused on Tubbataha Reef, according
to Escudero.
“The law already imposed an
inequitably small fine compared to the damage caused on the reef and
it would not help in protecting the resource if the government allows
to waive the fine in favor of other considerations being offered by
the US government,” Escudero said.
“Increasing the penalty on
the damage to the country’s protected resources would be part of my
agenda in the next Congress,” he added.
Last January 17, the US Navy
minesweeper ran aground at the Tubbataha Reef supposedly on its way to
Indonesia after a port call at Subic Bay. The US Navy took two months
to dismantle and extricate the military vessel from the reef.
Escudero said it is not
about the amount that the country will get from the United States but
it is all about following the law. It is all about the principle of
respect between two allies, he said.
“I don’t buy the alibi given
by the US Navy that the compass of the vessel failed to function and
it lost its way when it rammed the reef, even Christopher Columbus
used only a compass in discovering the New World. How can a modern
American war vessel be sailing aimlessly?,” Escudero said.
Escudero said the penalty
imposed on the US Navy vessel should also be the same for Chinese
fishing vessel that also rammed the reef recently.
“The penalty imposed on
vessels that cause destruction to the country’s protected areas
should, however, be increased since the fine under the current law is
too small compared to the actual damage caused,” Escudero said.
Escudero noted that the
government had already installed improved radar capabilities in the
area to detect any intruding vessels in the Tubbataha Reef area.