PHL urged to file case vs China

A FORMER lawmaker on Tuesday said the Philippine government should file a case against China before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to seek compensation for the alleged coral reef damage caused by a Chinese ship last month.

“I think we should not let other countries responsible for the destruction of our ecosystems get away from their misdeeds, deliberately or accidentally,” former Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace S. Barbers said in a statement.

The Philippines is seeking P11.1 million in compensation from China after a Chinese vessel dropped anchor in shallow waters less than three kilometers from Thitu Island on June 7, damaging about 465 square meters of coral reef within Philippine waters.

A Palawan-based environmental agency on Monday said that the patch of coral reef sustained physical damage from the incident, with fragments broken off and sections chipped from large coral formations. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio