Talisay to use $10T to repair reefs
RATHER than let it go unused, the Talisay City government chose to use the US $10,000 donation given by the captain of the Chinese cargo ship that ran aground in Lagundi Reef in 2009.
The council approved a resolution to use the money for the rehabilitation projects of the reef and two other marine protected areas in the city.
The money was saved in the city’s trust fund since March 2009.
Despite the civil case filed against the Chinese cargo ship MV United, Councilor Bernard Odilao said the money can be used for the reef’s rehabilitation.
Chinese cargo ship MV United’s captain donated the money to the city government after his ship ran aground in Lagundi Reef last March 5, 2009.
The amount was supposedly intended for the rehabilitation of the damaged coral reef in barangay Poblacion.
Odilao said the donation could also benefit Pungaton Reef and Makatol Reef in the coastal villages of Tanke and Pooc.
Last June, the Talisay city government said it will sue the shipping company two years after its ship ran aground in Lagundi Reef off the city.
The Talisay City Council passed a resolution authorizing Mayor Socrates Fernandez and the City Legal Office to sue MV United Majuro.
Odilao, who authored the two resolutions, said the city government’s earlier demands for compensation went unheeded.
Much of the Lagundi Reef, a protected area in Talisay City, was destroyed when the Chinese cargo vessel bound for Thailand ran aground in the area in March 5, 2009.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources estimated the damage to the reef at P861,680.
The amount excludes heritage value, cost of rehabilitation and eco-tourism income generation per annum for 25 years.
Live coral cover damage was estimated at 0.38 hectares or 84.02 percent of the reef. Recovery time was estimated at 25 years.
Two adult giant clams (scientific name Tridacna squamosa) were killed by the impact inflicted by the ship’s crash.
The government allocated P1.3 million for the filing and litigation of the case against MV United Majuro. The vessel, a bulk carrier from Majuro on Marshall Island, has 24 Chinese crew.
Talisay City officials ordered the arrest of Cheng Guang Ming, captain of the MV United Majuro, for violating a Talisay City ordinance that regulates activities within the reef.
Ming said he and his crew did not realize that they were in a protected coastal area.
MV United Majuro captain Cheng Cuang Ming was fined P5,000, the maximum penalty for violating the ordinance and was ordered released by the city prosecutor. The captain then donated US$10,000 to Talisay City.
