Province has yet to start repair of damaged Monad Shoal

CEBU, Philippines — More than two years after the Monad Shoal was hit by a ship, the rehabilitation of the area by the Cebu provincial government through the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) is yet to be started.

A group of divers in Malapascua Island in Daanbantayan, Cebu informed The FREEMAN that Crest Ocean Traders SA, the owner of MV Belle Rose, is now asking if the provincial government is still interested to accept the money they offered to pay for the damages.

MV Belle Rose which ran aground in Monad Shoal on June 13, 2016 has been allowed to sail to Subic Bay, Zambales for repairs after the Cebu provincial government received without objection the ship owner’s letter of guarantee ensuring the payment of a maximum amount of $1.5 million for the rehabilitation of the damaged area in Malapascua Island.

They fear that the amount covered by the Japan Ship Owner’s Mutual Protection & Indemnity Club, the ship company’s insurance provider, will lapse.

A PENRO official said the Cebu provincial government is still willing to accept the promised $1.5 million compensation money from the owner company of MV Belle Rose.

However, the PENRO is still finalizing the plans made to rehabilitate the Monad Shoal.

Marine Biologist Romel Kirit, focal person on Environmental Management Services (EMS), explained that the plan takes some time to make because it has three major components.

The first is the biological plan, which details the actions to be taken on how to restore the damaged habitat within two years. These include the planting of corals on the area from nearby healthy reefs.

According to the assessment made by PENRO last year, the damage reached 3.3 hectares.

The report also revealed that the coral cover of the affected area is now only at seven to 14 percent, compared to its state before the ship grounding happened.

“All the sampled sites in the three areas (damage area, east and west of the shoal) were devoid of sea grass beds and had very little percentage of sponges and other organisms,” stated in a PENRO report.

Monad Shoal is a known diving spot for those who wish to see thresher sharks in Malapascua Island.

The damage also affected the yield of the nearby fisherfolk communities.

This is why a socio-economic plan had to be included as well, according to Kirit.

The second plan includes livelihood development training and providing of support facilities.

The third one is a monitoring plan when the replanting of corals is done.  By then, PENRO has to monitor the survival of the corals as well as its impact to the other five MPAs surrounding Monad Shoal.

Kirit said that all three plans are generally finished.

What PENRO needs to do is to consolidate and fine-tune the three and make it into a one integrated plan with budget.

“The action is really on our side,” he said.

The rehabilitation is a joint undertaking of the PENRO, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), and the local government of Daanbantayan.

Among the challenges that Kirit mentioned is that the EMS handles so many tasks from the 51 local government units that the Monad Shoal rehabilitation was later on ‘less prioritized.’

Aside from overseeing the rehabilitation of the shoal, the said section also handles solid waste management, research, water quality management, and pollution management.

PENRO Chief Jayson Lozano said that their office will follow up with the pledged monetary support from the company that owns the M/V Belle Rose so they may begin with the rehabilitation.

“Administratively, we’d like to follow it up sa respondent. Second, to ensure nga di na mausab, naa tay gi-submit nga draft ordinance sa SP (Sangguniang Panlalawigan) stating the protocol kung naay ship grounding,” he said.

Meanwhile, PDRRMO Chief Baltazar Tribunalo said that their office had and will assist in the undertaking but the responsibility on ensuring the rehabilitation of the site is the LGU. (FREEMAN)