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Shouldn’t they pay more?

“The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed that the Philippine government has received full payment from the United States for the damage caused to the Tubbataha Reef by the grounding of the USS Guardian,” reports ANC.

The report noted: “The DFA said the full requested amount of PHP87,033,570.71 (US$2.2 million) from the U.S. will be utilized for the protection and rehabilitation of Tubbataha Reef Natural Park.”

The report then recalled that “the USS Guardian ran aground and damaged the Tubbataha Reef — which is classified as a World Heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) — back in January 17, 2013.” The ship damaged more than 2,300 square meters of the protected area.

It took 10 weeks for the area to be cleared, as the wrecked vessel had to be removed piece by piece to prevent further damage to the reef.

The DFA revealed that “portions of the fund will also be used to further enhance capability to monitor the area and prevent similar incidents in the future.”