MANILA, Philippines - Several groups will stage a "sovereignty and environmental" mission next week in Palawan to get the people's version on the grounding of the United States navy ship, USS Guardian, in Tubbataha Reef last January 17.
The mission's organizers, including the fisherfolk group Pamalakaya, Anakpawis partylist and the International Fisherfolk and FishWorkers Coalition, announced on Monday that the mission will be held from March 11 to 14.
"We want to know the real score from the people's point of view. The mission will focus on the gathering of data and opinion of people affected by the destruction caused by US mine sweeper," Pamalakaya chairperson Fernando Hicap said.
Hicap said the groups will consult local fishermen, environmental groups and local government officials on the proposed omnibus demand that seeks to address the current environmental disaster in the 130,000-hectare coral reef.
The demands which will be presented to a public forum on March 12 include the urgent, effective and safe retrieval of the USS Guardian from the Tubbataha reef park, the proposal to extradite and charge officials and the 79 crew members of USS Guardian, the demand for rehabilitation of Tubbataha, and the setting of US compensation fund for future claims of small fishermen who going to suffer the effects of the Tubbataha incident.
Last week, the US Navy’s 7th Fleet said the extraction of the USS Guardian from Tubbataha Reef could take more than a month.
The 7th Fleet added that the Guardian, which was part of its armada and was earlier declared to be "beyond economical repair," had been "decommissioned and stricken" from the US Naval Registry as of February 15.