00:00 The country's rich and diverse coral reefs in Sabina Shoal have been crushed, bleached
00:05 and dumped randomly by what many believe was dredging and reclamation efforts to set up
00:11 a military outpost in Sabina Shoal.
00:13 Thus, the Philippine Coast Guard or PCG and the National Security Council have seen it
00:19 fit to beef up Philippine presence to avert any more environmentally destructive activities
00:24 in the area.
00:26 The full report from our Patrick De Jesus.
00:29 Preparations for the civilian convoy initiated by Aten Ito Koalisyon to Bajo de Masinloc
00:36 or Scarborough Shoal is now on final stages.
00:40 They will also install buoys with WPS Aten Ito written on it.
00:46 However, a huge force deployment of up to four China Coast Guard ships and more than
00:51 20 Chinese maritime militia vessels to Scarborough Shoal were monitored via AIS by maritime expert
00:59 Ray Powell.
01:00 Despite this, Aten Ito said, "They will be unfazed in carrying out their mission to distribute
01:07 assistance to Filipino fisher folks."
01:10 The PCG assured, "They will provide security to ensure the safety of all of the civilian
01:16 participants."
01:17 "Bilang Pilipino, kung gusto nilang maglihayad dito, that's their right.
01:22 Again, sa Coast Guard, we just have to ensure that they are safe.
01:27 The Commandant intends to provide safety and security sa Aten Ito Koalisyon."
01:35 Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard discovered crushed and dead corals at the seabed of
01:41 Sabina or Escoda Shoal.
01:44 In other areas, there were elevation of artificial sandbars.
01:49 This was observed by the PCG during the deployment since April to Sabina Shoal of one of their
01:55 biggest ships, the BRP Teresa Magbanwa.
01:59 The PCG suspects this could be another reclamation attempt like a similar one observed in the
02:05 sandy case near Pag-asa Island.
02:08 China could potentially or likely be behind with the previous sightings of Chinese marine
02:13 scientists and research vessels, as well as 40 other ships of China Coast Guard, Chinese
02:20 maritime militia, and the People's Liberation Army Navy.
02:24 The dumped crushed corals were found in a large area of Sabina Shoal.
02:30 Reclamation here could bring possible danger as it is just 71 nautical miles from Palawan
02:36 and also near Ayungin Shoal where the BRP Sierra Madre is stationed.
02:42 But with the deployment of the PCG ship, the activities of Chinese ships have been limited.
02:48 "Every once in a while, we measure this again and yet we see that there is no erosion or
02:54 increase in this total area.
02:56 It means that the Chinese government was prevented in continuing this small-scale reclamation.
03:03 So it is worth noting that we have become very successful in preventing China from continuing
03:12 the small-scale reclamation."
03:13 "We are alarmed by all of this development and that is why the National Task Force West
03:18 Philippine Sea led by Secretary Año has already directed a more strict monitoring of all
03:24 of our features and all of the features within the West Philippine Sea, within our 200 nautical
03:30 exclusive economic zone."
03:32 The PCG will coordinate with the UP Marine Science Institute to further determine the
03:37 cost of the dumping of corals.
03:40 But then they came across a published Chinese academic journal on the use of coral fragments
03:46 and hydraulic reclamation in the South China Sea.
03:50 "The characteristic of the poros that they showed in their academic journal is similar
03:58 with what we saw in San Dikeys and also in Iskoda Shoal.
04:04 So perhaps this academic journal is the explanation of how they do things in doing a small-scale
04:12 reclamation.
04:13 Ang intention nga natin dito, why we decided to anchor Philippine Coast Guard Vessel as
04:20 the rigid hull inflatable boats roam around the area is to catch them talaga, for us to
04:26 know how they are doing this."
04:28 The PCG said the BRP Teresa Magbanwa will remain in Sabina Shoal to prevent any extraneous
04:35 activities there.
04:37 Patrick De Asus from The National TV for a new and better Philippines.
