China dumped crushed corals in parts of West PH Sea: Coast Guard

Job Manahan, ABS-CBN News 

MANILA — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Tuesday alleged that the Chinese maritime militia harvested and later dumped &quot;processed&quot; coral reefs in some parts of the West Philippine Sea. Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG&#x27;s spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said they were &quot;puzzled&quot; over why China brought back the clean and crushed corals to Escoda Shoal. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/18/23/maritime-expert-fears-collapse-of-philippine-fisheries">Maritime expert fears collapse of Philippine fisheries</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/16/23/afp-suspects-china-of-harvesting-corals-in-rozul-reef">AFP suspects China of harvesting corals in Rozul Reef</a></li></ul>&quot;It does not explain kung bakit nila hinarvest and then idinump nila ulit,&quot; said Tarriela in a state-run program. &quot;That is another possibility — the reason they are harvesting corals is because &#x27;yun nga, ginagamit nila na palamuti sa bahay nila. Nilalagay nila sa jewelry nila. Kung nagha-harvest sila, and then sa Escoda Shoal nagda-dump sila ng coral, it does not answer the question: Bakit nila hinarvest at ibinagsak nila sa karagatan,&quot; he added. Tarriela said they were still evaluating the matter and sought the expertise of marine scientists at the University of the Philippines to examine samples of the crushed coral reefs.The Philippine Coast Guard is also working on figuring out how and why the coral reefs died. They are also gathering evidence on whether or not the Chinese maritime militia were behind the destruction of pristine marine environment, but stressed that they were the only entities present in the Escoda Shoal and Rozul Reef between August and September.&quot;We do not have any clear proof to pinpoint the Chinese maritime militia na sila ang may mga activities na ito na nakasira ng coral reefs natin,&quot; he said. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/video/news/09/18/23/marcos-admin-urged-to-file-case-vs-china-over-environmental-damage">Marcos admin urged to file case vs China over environmental damage</a></li></ul>&quot;But what is certain is that from Aug. 9 until Sept. 11, dito sa area na ito minonitor natin ang Chinese maritime militia vessels, they were there in that particular area and right after they left, that&#x27;s the time we conducted underwater survey,&quot; he said. &quot;Kayo lang naman ang nandito (Chinese vessels) pero nung pinuntahan namin, nasira na. That is circumstantial,&quot; he said. Authorities have yet to estimate the total environmental damage in the areas. The Armed Forces of the Philippines over the weekend said it had seen the effects of coral harvesting in Rozul Reef that left the seabed barren. The Philippine Coast Guard on Monday backed the military&#x27;s report, adding it saw similar ecological damage at Escoda Shoal.Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the best legal minds and environmental lawyers would be tapped in relation to the incident. “We will pursue these cases against China because apparent na eh, marami na po tayong ebidensya,” Remulla said.Remulla said he would meet with Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on the possible filing of cases against China. “Tandaan natin, with or without a territorial dispute, the destruction of the environment is a sin against humanity kaya it’s a very good case to file in behalf of the Republic of the Philippines,” he said.ABS-CBN News sought comment from the Chinese Embassy regarding the matter, but a representative has yet to respond as of this story&#x27;s posting.US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson has described the destruction as &quot;<a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/19/23/destruction-at-rozul-reef-escoda-shoal-troubling-us-envoy">troubling</a>.&quot; <div>— With a report from Adrian Ayalin, ABS-CBN News </div><div>RELATED VIDEO: </div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2809326" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

An official alleged that the Chinese maritime militia just dumped processed and crushed corals in parts of the West Philippine Sea after harvesting it. 

China dumped crushed corals in parts of West PH Sea: Coast Guard | ABS-CBN

Halalan 2025

Entertainment

News

Metro.Style

Sports

More

Traffic

Horoscope

News

China dumped crushed corals in parts of West PH Sea: Coast Guard

China dumped crushed corals in parts of West PH Sea: Coast Guard

Job Manahan,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 19, 2023 01:26 PM PHT

|

Updated Sep 19, 2023 07:04 PM PHT

Read More:

Rozul Reef

Escoda Shoal

West Philippine Sea

South China Sea

Jay Tarriela

destruction coral reefs

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2025 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.