The United States government is responsible for the destruction of parts of the Tubbataha Reef near Palawan and is therefore obligated to make reparations for such destruction. Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, an international law expert, made this assertion in a speech at the University of the Philippines (UP) in Manila. Santiago said the destruction by US Navy warship in the Tubbataha Reef within Philippine Territory was an "internationally wrongful act which entails the international responsibility" of the United States.

Casayuran, M. B. (2013, February 14). Miriam: US must pay Tubbataha. Manila Bulletin, p. 3.