Raising Musashi could harm environment



By Maila Ager
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 19:35:00 10/22/2008



MANILA, Philippines—Opposition Senator Loren Legarda is against a plan to bring to surface the Japanese warship Musashi, which sank off Romblon province 64 years ago during the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea.
Legarda said raising Musashi, among the largest and most heavily-armed battleships ever built, could imperil the marine ecosystem in the area.
“Surely, the warship is now home to marine life off the island of Romblon. Refloating it now would invite damage to the marine ecosystem there," she said in a statement on Wednesday.
Legarda’s warning came after a group of Japanese, headed by a government representative Kiyoshi Goto, offered to refloat the shipwreck found 4,430 feet under water at 13 degrees 07'01" North, 122 degrees 31'59" East, off the Bondoc Peninsula.
Musashi sank during intense air attacks by American forces on October 24, 1944.
The Japanese group said “refloating the warship is in honor of the friendship between the Japanese and the Filipino people."
Legarda insisted that the environmental concerns should be addressed first, even as she acknowledged the historical significance of bringing the battleship to surface.
"If this ship will ever be raised from the bottom of the sea, it should serve as a memorial to those who risked and sacrificed their lives for freedom and love of country," she said.
"Like any war relic, it must serve as a reminder to the present and future generations of the senselessness of war,” she further said.
The Musashi was the second and final Yamato class battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy, with the legendary Yamato as its sister ship.
Attacked by American dive bombers, the Musashi capsized to port, bringing down with her about 1,000 of her 2,299 crew.
Wow, buo pa kaya ito?