Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday renewed her call for China to pay in billions environmental damages in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) as she filed a resolution for the Senate to investigate the matter.
“We should seek payment for damages caused by China in the WPS. We can get up to billions if we will oblige China to pay,” stressed Hontiveros. “They had already stolen our fishermen’s jobs and still, they ravaged our natural resources,” she noted.
“If China can only pay all their debts, this can help us cope with the economic crisis we are facing.” The latest destruction involved the coral reefs in Rozul Reef and Escoda Shoal.
The Philippine Coast Guard confirmed that the destruction was most likely caused by Chinese maritime militia vessels.
Due to this, Hontiveros filed Senate Resolution No. 804, condemning the massive coral harvesting and urging the appropriate Senate Committee to conduct an inquiry into the matter. In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, the senator filed PSR No. 369, calling on the Executive to exert legal and diplomatic efforts so that China would foot the bill for our COVID-19 response.
This call came after Dr. Deo Onda, a scientist from the University of the Philippines’ Marine Science Institute, estimated that the Philippines was losing around P33.1 billion annually from the damaged reef ecosystems in Panatag Shoal and Spratlys Islands due to China’s reclamation activities in the area.
Onda explained that the amount was determined using a baseline value of $353,429 or P18 million per hectare per year for coral reefs based on a study conducted by Elsevier, a Dutch company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical information and analytics.
“This will not be the first time for us to seek reparations. Japan paid our country for her destruction of Manila during World War II, and in more recent history, the United States of America also paid the Philippines P87 million, after the USS Guardian damaged Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea. May karapatan tayong maningil,” Hontiveros explained.
The resolution also states that the government cannot tolerate the continuing harm to the environment, economy, and security brought about by China’s incursions, and must explore available resources to hold China accountable, including a claim for damages to be filed with the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
“Our 2016 Arbitral Award clearly invalidated China’s sweeping and expansive claims in the WPS,” she said. Hontiveros said this “is a case we won because of our dogged commitment to abide by international law and to stick with the truth. It is only right that we pursue all options to make China pay.”