Sunken ships in Subic Bay being looted

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman Felicito Payumo ordered yesterday an investigation into the reported looting of historical artifacts from sunken vessels in the Subic Bay.

Payumo formed the Task Force Bay Watch, headed by the SBMA Ecology Center with direct participation by community leaders, particularly in fishing villages in the nearby towns of Zambales and Bataan.

Jim Robertson, operator of the Subic Bay Aqua Sports Inc., was the one who brought the looting to Payumo’s attention. He is a member of the task force.

In a letter to Payumo, Robertson said the destruction of some of the Subic Bay’s famous tourist attractions "cannot be possible" without the looters acting in collusion with the SBMA’s harbor patrol unit.

Initial investigation by the SBMA’s investigation and intelligence office showed that fishermen from Subic, Zambales were able to penetrate the shipwreck site and took several parts of the sunken vessels, including a propeller.

Payumo has relieved the harbor patrol unit’s officer-in-charge and beefed up security measures in the Subic Bay.