Palace verifying reports on WWII ship wreck

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine government is in the process of verifying news reports that Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen found in Sibuyan Sea a Japanese ship that sank during the World War II, a Palace spokesman said yesterday.

“The reported discovery of the Japanese battleship Musashi by the group of Mr. Paul Allen is now being verified by the National Museum and other concerned government agencies,” said Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr.

According to Coloma, officials of the National Museum are “closely coordinating” with the stakeholders concerned, including the Romblon provincial government, where the shipwreck was reportedly found.

“The discovery of an archeological artifact such as this is covered by Republic Act 10066 or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009,” Coloma said.

Officials will also be coordinating with billionaire Allen and his US-based organization.

“We will await the verification being done now by the National Museum. They are the lead agency of government in doing what is needed regarding this development,” Coloma said.

Meanwhile, the military yesterday welcomed the finding of the Musashi.

“It’s a historical artifact and hopefully, the discovery will show that it is not good to wage war,” Armed Forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Joselito Kakilala said.

Kakilala said the ship is also a potential tourist attraction.

In a Twitter post on Wednesday, Allen revealed that he found the wreck of the long-lost World War II Japanese battleship near the Sibuyan Sea at the south of Luzon.

He posted images on the social networking site that allegedly showed the Musashi, once one of the two largest warships in the world. The wreckage of the warship was reportedly discovered by Allen’s yacht, the M/Y Octopus, last March 1 as part of an expedition he launched.

The search has taken Allen and his team of researchers more than eight years.

The images and video were taken by an unmanned submersible deployed from the vessel. – With Alexis Romero