US pays P87M for Tubbataha damages

THE United States has paid the Philippine Government more than P87 million as compensation for the damage the USS Guardian caused the Tubbataha Reef in January 2013.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said that the US government has paid the “full requested amount” of P87,033,570.71 last Jan. 20, 2015.

The DFA said the compensation will be utilized for the protection and rehabilitation of Tubbataha Reef Natural Park, a world heritage site of the United Nations Education- al, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).

“Portions of the fund will also be used to further enhance capability to monitor the area and prevent similar incidents in the future,” it added.

The US Government is also providing additional assistance to the Philippine Coast Guard to upgrade the PCG Substation in Tubbataha.

In September 2014, US Ambassador to Manila Philip Goldberg said the US is currently in the “last phase” of the legal review of the claim.