Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 3) — The possible environmental case of the Philippines should demand that China pay for the damage it caused in the West Philippine Sea, a former solicitor general said Friday.
“The tribunal very clearly said there is damage to the environment. The only thing is we did not quantify how much is the damage so the logical thing to do now is to file a case, quantify the damage and then seek damages as monetary damages against China,” former Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
Department of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said in October that the government will file an environmental case against China early next year. This will be regarding Beijing’s alleged destruction of coral reefs and disruption of marine life in the West Philippine Sea.
Jardeleza said the latest case should be filed at the Permanent Court of Arbitration. The PCA served as registry in the case filed in 2013 by the Philippines against China before an arbitral tribunal created under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The new case should be also built on the 2016 ruling that invalidated Beijing’s expansive claims in the South China Sea, he added.
A team of experts and consultants will have to be formed to determine the amount of the compensation, gather witnesses, pieces of evidence, and other things needed to support the case, he said. These will then be presented to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. who will decide if the filing will push through.
\”Secretary Remulla said he has the mandate of the president. I checked with Executive Secretary (Lucas) Bersamin and Secretary of Defense (Gilbert) Teodoro and they confirmed to me that indeed Secretary Remulla has the mandate of the president… I think we are on the right track,\” Jardeleza said.
The budget for this will not be a problem because when the arbitration case was filed, the Aquino administration used the contingent funds of the chief executive, he added.
The retired Supreme Court Associate Justice said this should be filed as soon as the government is ready, but he admitted preparations could take months.
In case China rejects paying the compensation, Jardeleza said there is a treaty called the New York Convention.
This treaty was adopted by a United Nations diplomatic conference in 1958. This applies to the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards and the referral by a court to arbitration.
Jardeleza also defended the suggestion to use “Sea of Asia” in the case. He said this will cover the West Philippine Sea and six other reefs outside of the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) that were also allegedly damaged by China.
“We still use West Philippine Sea with respect to that ruling but I’m calling the attention that the ruling…included six other reefs outside our EEZ,” he said. “You need a terminology, parang diskarte (it’s like a strategy).”
