By Celeste Ann R. Formoso
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, (PNA) –A group that calls itself “Friends of Tubbataha (FoT),”and being managed by the Tubbataha Management Office (TMO) has launched an online petition and signature campaign to strongly oppose Sen. Antonio Trillanes’ proposed Senate Bill No. 159, or the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes (ASL).
On the world petition platform Change.org, the FoT of the TMO under Angelique Songco said the proposed ASL “conflicts with the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP) and UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Sulu Sea” because “the sea lanes passes within the natural marine park’s boundaries and crosses a portion of the coral reef atoll” within the protected area.
The FoT is recommending that the “sea lane be clearly delineated outside of the park boundary with a buffer beyond its borders, and that the sea lane designation includes guidance regarding the presence of internationally protected marine area within the Sulu Sea.”
In the online petition, the FoT further said that the Tubbataha Protected Area Management Board (TPAMB) has also submitted a position paper to the office of Trillanes and the Senate in general.
In this position paper, the TPAMB indicated that the proposed ASL flouts other international agreements concerning the natural marine park that the Philippines has signed aside from the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS).
These are international treaties such as the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of 1971, Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage of 1972, Convention on Biological Diversity of 1992, and the UN Conference on Environment and Development of 1992.
The said treaties, according to the FoT, “assign conservation responsibilities to the state party in behalf of the international community. In addition, the country is a leading proponent in the Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Eco-region and Coral Triangle Initiative programs, both of which pursue the protection of the Sulu Sea, among others.”
The FoT also contends that the UNCLOS does not only necessitate the country to establish an ASL, but that it is also obligated to conserve and manage its living marine resources.
“Establishing ASLs within the Philippine waters, given its detrimental impacts on the marine environment, will be going against all these other international commitments of the Philippine Government,” the FoT said.
The proposed ASL, if allowed to cross within the TRNP, would contravene too, the state policy stated in Article 1, Section 7 of the Philippine Constitution, which states that the country should pursue an independent foreign policy.”
On its relationship with other countries, the FoT said the Philippines “paramount consideration should be national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interest, and the right to self-determination” (1987 Constitution of the Philippines).
Hence, it is obliged to advocate the tasks assigned to it by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), “including the designation of sea lanes within its territorial waters.”
However, these responsibilities need to be balanced with government’s responsibility to ensure “a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature” (1987 Constitution of the Philippines) for its citizens.
“The proposed ASLs run through most of the country’s significant marine habitats, e.g., TRNP, Apo Reef Natural Park, etc., as well as critical fishing grounds for the tens of millions of Filipino fishers. Tubbataha has proven to be a major source of fish for the islands surrounding Sulu Sea. These overlaps will cause serious detrimental effects on the country’s marine habitats and its predominantly fisheries-based economy and would thereby deprive the Filipino people of a balanced and healthful ecology,” the FoT strongly stated in the petition.
It added that the ASL will also violate the TRNP Act of 2009, or Republic Act 10067, because “two of its proposed ASLs cross the Sulu Sea: (1) the axis line from Basilan Strait into Sulu Sea; and, (2) the axis line from Nasubata Channel to Balabac Strait.”
The deviation area of the axis line from Nasubata Channel going to Balabac Strait, as prescribed by these Bills, overlaps with the TRNP no-take and buffer zone southern boundaries, which are allegedly about 20 nautical miles and 8.5 nautical miles from the said axis line, respectively.
The ASL, the FoT claims, is a biological and economic threat too. “From a biological standpoint, creating sea lanes within the internal waters of the country is damaging to the marine habitat and therefore, to the livelihood of millions of Filipinos,” it said.
Currently, ship traffic traversing the no-take zone of TRNP is already quite high and increasing with a monthly average of 117 ships’ sightings per month in 2010 to 187 in 2012 (TPAMB & TMO, 2011).
“This represents an increase of 59% in the volume of ships’ traffic within two years as gleaned from radar observations made every three hours at the TRNP ranger station. Establishing ASLs would increase vessel traffic within the Sulu Sea and concentrate attendant deleterious effects on marine ecosystem, e.g., accidental oil and other pollution, alien invasive species, ships groundings, etc.”
The FoT added, “boat traffic likewise affects migratory species adversely. Important biological functions of marine mammals can be disrupted by the increased ambient noise due to boat traffic (Okeanos 2008).”
The online petition stated too that the “baffling grounding incident involving the minesweeper USS Guardian on January 17 this year, clearly demonstrates that even the best-equipped vessels of the world’s super power are not impervious to miscalculations and could inflict havoc on the park.”
What more if the ASL opens it to the freedom of navigation of military vessels, over-flights of military aircrafts, particularly submarines, aircraft carriers and escorting warships, and warplanes,” it stated.
“Another incident involving the fishing vessel, Min Long Yu, which ran aground on 8 April 2013, plainly demonstrates the vulnerability of the park to maritime activities. Increasing ship traffic in the Sulu Sea by opening ASLs to ‘unrestricted entry and transit by all kinds of foreign vessels that previously the Philippines did not officially and legally permit without its consent: military, fishing, and research vessels and aircraft, would intensify the park’s exposure to ship groundings, and therefore, coral damage, and to the other devastating effects of escalated maritime activities in the Sulu Sea,” it furthered.
Lastly, the FoT said the TPAMB is now collaborating with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in preparing the application for designation of Tubbataha as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSA), including its buffer zone.
“The establishment of an ASL that traverses the boundaries of the park is incongruous with the aspirations of the TPAMB, its partners and the international conservation community,” it said.
As of this posting, the FoT’s online petition has already gathered over 300 signatures.