US Navy men in Tubbataha Reef case punished; compensation coming – Goldberg

US Ambassador to the Philippines Philip Goldberg. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines — US Navy officers responsible for the grounding of a US Navy ship in Tubbataha reef in 2013 have no more military career, according to US Ambassador Philip Goldberg.

Goldberg said on Thursday that people “responsible” for the USS Guardian “received punishment” for the accident that led to the destruction of precious coral reefs in the area.

“Basically, their careers are over,” Goldberg said in an interview with ANC’s Karen Davila, adding that the US government was “sorry for what happened.”

The ambassador also indicated that the US government would eventually pay compensation to the Philippine government for the accident.

“We have an agreement I think to pay the compensation. We’re just waiting for the bank account information,” he said.

“We gonna make sure that it doesn’t happen again and do all in our power to make that the case but the final step is the compensation,” he added.