18-9-2023 (MANILA) The fishers group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas has called on the government to conduct a comprehensive damage assessment of the Rozul (Iroquois) Reef in the West Philippine Sea. The move comes after the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) expressed suspicions that Chinese militia may have harvested corals from this area.
Bobby Roldan, the group’s vice chairman for Luzon, voiced support for Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos, chief of the AFP Western Command, who claimed that the reef had been plundered of its corals, likely by the Chinese. This extensive poaching of corals has resulted in significant destruction of marine resources in the region, which lies within the country’s exclusive economic zone, near Palawan.
Roldan stressed the importance of identifying the nature of damage inflicted on the swarmed area, whether it involved coral harvesting, clam hunting, or military activities. He urged the government to promptly address this issue by involving marine scientists and experts to assess the damage and its potential long-term consequences on local fishery production.
As a fisherman from Zambales, Roldan emphasized the need for the government to allocate funds for strengthening the local science and research industry instead of directing vast sums towards confidential and intelligence funds. This investment would empower the Philippines to assess the environmental impacts of Chinese activities in the West Philippine Sea and harness its own marine and mineral resources.
The fishers group highlighted that an estimated 100 square miles of coral reefs in the West Philippine Sea, particularly in the Spratlys, have been destroyed due to China’s construction of artificial islands housing military facilities. According to the Advocates of Science and Technology for the People, coral reefs may take up to 20 years to recover, depending on conservation efforts.
The AFP suggested that Chinese activities, including coral harvesting, may have begun in July when their ships swarmed the Rozul Reef, located approximately 150 nautical miles from the Palawan mainland. The Philippine Navy subsequently dispatched divers to conduct an underwater survey when the Chinese ships departed for Panganiban (Mischief) Reef weeks later.
