The government will investigate the crushed corals dumped in a sandbar near Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea.

During the "Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon" program on Tuesday, National Security Council (NSC) Assistant Director General and National Task Force - West Philippine Sea spokesman Jonathan Malaya said the government will verify the circumstances and facts behind the reported dumping of the corals at Sandy Cay 2.

"Since it was just reported, we must verify the circumstances and facts behind what happened here because somebody would again say that we are making political drama out of fiction," he said.

"The first thing we must do is due diligence. Let's investigate and know the circumstances," he added.

According to the television report, piles of crushed corals were found in Sandy Cay 2 on September 22. Sandy Cay 2 is one of four sandbars near Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea.

The report noted that "Sandy Cay 2 found to have been covered with piles of dead and crushed corals almost as high as a human, compared to Sandy Cay 1, where the sand is still uncovered."

It can be recalled that the military and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) also announced the destruction and harvesting of corals in Escoda Shoal and Rozul Reef.

In a previous interview, Malaya said harvesting of corals is normally "a precursor to a reclamation" activity. Robina Asido/DMS