Gabriella‏: US Militärschiff zerstört ungestraft riesiges Korallenriff in den Philippinen

On January 17, 2013, the USS Guardian, a United States Navy minesweeper, ran aground the Tubbataha Reefs in Palawan, which  led to the destruction of  at least 4,000 square meters of corals and marine sanctuary which took hundreds of year to create.

Tubbataha is a UNESCO declared World Heritage Site and home to more than 1000 species of marine and avian life, many of which are considered endangered. The area is also a breeding ground for various fish species that boost the local fishing economy besides the tourism industry. The crew blames faulty navigation equipment for the accident.

Local authorities, however, attested that the crew has been repeatedly warned not to go near the protected reef area as ships are forbidden there. Yet, the ship’s crew did not heed the warning and instead proceeded and arrogantly responded by saying that the Philippine authorities should coordinate with the US Embassy instead.  As part of the Visiting Forces Agreement the ship was allegedly on its way to Indonesia from rest and recreation activities in Olongapo City in Central Luzon.

There are also speculations that the minesweeper was there for possible oil exploration survey as the area is believed to be rich in oil deposits. This is not the first and only “accident” involving US military forces in the country. Last year, a fisherman and his son was run over by a US military vessel involved in military exercises in Zamboanga (Mindanao) followed by waste materials from US ships dumped in the waters of Subic Bay (Central Luzon). A few weeks before the USS Guardian incident, a drone was found by locals in Masbate (Bicol) and US officials refused to subject container vans of meat to inspections by the Bureau of Food and Drugs because they might get contaminated.  These and other deplorable incidents such as the rape of Nicole and Vanessa by members of US forces and the murder of a Filipino while working as an interpreter for US troops in Mindanao a few years ago has  ignited furious protests over the presence of US military forces in the country. What happened since then? In the meantime, Philippine President Noynoy Aquino has yet to do anything concrete to make the crew of the USS Guardian and the United States accountable to the damages to the Tubbataha Reefs and the Philippines.  It has accepted the apology of the US on the general excuse of the US Navy crew that the incident was an accident instead of further investigating the reason why it was there in the first place. Philippine authorities allowed the members of the crew to fly back to their home base in Japan without any criminal liability.

While the head of the crew apologized for the damage, the US and Philippine governments are slow in taking steps to remove the ship from the reefs to prevent further damage.  Because both governments have agreed to prioritize the safe dismantling of the 68-meter Guardian over acting swiftly to curb further damage to the reefs, experts estimate that it would take about a year to remove the last of the ship’s remnants from Tubbataha. Our Demands: Fisherfolks in Palawan have expressed their fear that the incident has permanently affected their local livelihood and the tourism in the area.

Moreover, Filipino people have expressed alarm and protest on how the Philippine government accepts excuses by the US authorities and remains content with demanding monetary compensation. Beyond compensation, GABRIELA believes that the crew of the USS Guardian must be made criminally liable for the destruction of the Tubbataha, part of Philippine patrimony that has to be defended.

The US must also be taken to task with its arrogance and continued disregard of Philippine laws and sovereignty.   Filipino women believe that this incident calls for a deeper investigation and the immediate abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement that allows the US to freely trample on Philippine sovereignty, abuse our women and exploit our natural resources. We demand that the US government be made liable for the destruction of Tubbataha and the Aquino government to be held accountable for its complicity on the incident and for not taking significant actions to defend Philippine patrimony and assert national sovereignty. We ask you to support the Filipino people’s call to save Tubbataha by: Writing letters of protest or inquiry to US embassies in your country; Holding or joining picket protests and actions in front of US embassies in your country in support of the Filipino people’s call for accountability and for US military forces to leave the country; Repost this bulletin in your organizations’ websites or social networking sites; and Help us gather support by endorsing this statement to your networks. For further inquiries you may write us at: gabwomen@yahoo.com or visit our website www.gabrielaph.com