All Hands on Deck: The Roles of the Philippine Navy on Environmental Security The Case of the Tubbataha Reef Natural Parks

Abstract

Philippine Navy installations are strategically located all over the country, and are oftentimes the only authority figure in the area. Hence, this puts them in a position to help out in the protection of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Last January 17, 2013, the Tubbataha Reef Natural Park (TRNP) was devastated with the grounding of the USS Guardian, a United States Navy Minesweeper vessel. Nearly three months after the said incident, F/V Ming Long Yu, a Chinese fishing vessel got stuck on the North Atoll on April 8, 3013.

These devastations reflect a breach of the legal framework for the establishment and management of protected areas in our country by virtue of Republic Act 7586 otherwise known as the National Integrated Protected System (NIPAS) Act of 1992. The composite law enforcement team in the TRNP is composed of four personnel from the Philippine Navy, two from the Philippine Coast Guard, and two from the Tubbataha Management Office. The MPR enforces the TRNP Act in the park and make up the first line of authority. This qualitative research aims to determine the roles of the Philippine Navy (PN) in the protection of MPAs, particularly the case of Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP), in terms of compliance and enforcement activities. This is anchored on the principle of environmental security, which is concerned with relative safety from environmental change caused by natural or human processes due to ignorance, accident, mismanagement or design and originating within or across national borders (Ullman, 1983). This is one of the six branches of non-traditional national security threats together with International Terrorism, Trans-national Organized Crime, Illegal Migration, Energy Security, and Human Security. It is a fact that at present, there had been several violations that have occurred in the waters of TRNP, and it is the major concern of this study to find out the roles played by the Philippine Navy in serving as vanguard of the environment on the extent of enforcement and compliance to the law.

A series of interviews were conducted to determine the roles of the Philippine Navy in the protection of the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park. Different stakeholders were selected as key informants. Results showed that environmental law enforcement has always been part and parcel of their duties and responsibilities and that the Philippine Navy has always been a partner in the management of the TRNP since its conception. But it does not mean that the Philippine Navy cannot offer more and it would be a mistake if the full potential of the Navy would not be utilized in the protection of the TRNP. Civil-Military Operations (CMO) is one of the core competencies of the Philippine Navy and is usually conducted as part of reaching out to communities to gain their support and minimize interference in the conduct of their mission. Conducting frequent CMO, purposely to educate (Information, Education, Communication) the local populace on environmental protection would be a good contribution for the management/conservation effort. For the compliance and enforcement effort, the Philippine Navy could help by conducting more frequent patrols in the vicinity of the Park with close coordination with the TMO, Local Government Unit, or the People’s Organizations in the area since their mere presence in the area had already been a deterrent on illegal activities.