DOJ urged to file charges vs US crew over Tubbataha mishap

MANILA, Philippines - Militant groups on Friday asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to sue the US Navy officials and crew of vessel USS  Guardian, a  US mine sweeper, which ran aground last January 17 in Tubbataha Reef in Sulu Sea.

Fisherfolk Pamalakaya and Anakpawis party said that the DOJ should determine the criminal liabilities of US navy for the damage done on the reef, a declared world heritage site.

"We hope Secretary [Leila] De Lima will rise above the occasion and pursue the legitimate concerns of the Filipino public along the lines of national sovereignty, environmental and social justice," the groups said.

The groups also said that the DOJ should prepare the charge sheet against those involved in the environmental mishap and should entertain the proposal to file a class suit against the US government before an international body that addresses this kind of incident.

"The DoJ chief must express her own legal opinion on the matter because it is just, moral, politically correct and constitutionally appropriate," they noted.

The groups said Rear Admiral Thomas Carney, head of the US Navy logistics in Western Pacific, should be charged along with other other US military officials and personnel for the environmental havoc and violation of the country's national sovereignty.

"Let's get in on Secretary de Lima. The DoJ should pursue case against US Navy officials behind the Tubbataha Reef massacre," they said.