Reported new coral buildup in West PH Sea likely a ‘natural’ thing

Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea – Philippine Navy, speaks to the members of the media during the AFP weekly press briefing at Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City on February 4, 2025. INQUIRER.net file photo / ARNEL TACSON

MANILA, Philippines — The reported new buildup of corals in some West Philippine Sea features is likely due to natural occurrence, a Philippine Navy official said on Tuesday.

Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, noted reports of dumping of corals and crushed corals in Hasa-Hasa (Hala Moon) Shoal, Escoda (Sabina) Shoal, and Sandy Cay near Pagasa (Thitu) Island.

“Tidal movement or weather disturbances usually pile up crashed corals on shallow portions of the West Philippine Sea,” Trinidad said in a regular military press conference.

“It is most likely attributed to a natural occurrence,” he added.

Furthermore, Trinidad said that “there was no noted presence of any vessel that was dumping crushed corals.”

However, there were reports of dumped crushed corals in Escoda Shoal and the cays of Pagasa Island in 2024.

Trinidad clarified that he was referring to the newly reported increase in elevation following the reports of coral dumping last year.

“If ever there were dumping of crushed corals, it was already reported last year,” he said. “But the newly reported increase in the height of the elevation is more on account of the weather or natural conditions.”

In 2024, Commodore Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, stated that the BRP Teresa Magbanua had monitored the dumping of crushed corals in Escoda Shoal.

During that time, Jonathan Anticamara of the University of the Philippines Institute of Biology also said he found coral rubble or dead coral fragments “piled on Pag-asa Cays 1, 2 and 3 that are now exposed during high tide.”

“The PCG has discovered that the physical characteristics of the LTE (low tide elevation) surrounding Escoda/Sabina Shoal are similar to those of the sandy cays [of Pagasa Island],” Tarriela had said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “It has been observed that crushed corals were dumped and it is highly likely that the maritime features were altered.”

In response to reports of coral dumping, the BRP Teresa Magbanua was deployed for more than five months, becoming the longest-deployed PCG asset in the West Philippine Sea.

READ: ‘Lugaw’ and rainwater for weeks: BRP Teresa Magbanua crew’s struggles in WPS

The 97-meter multirole response vessel returned to Puerto Princesa port in September 2024 with four dehydrated crew who subsisted on rice porridge and rainwater for weeks as China Coast Guard thwarted the arrival of their supplies. /jpv