THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) is set to spend P300 million to build a new sheltered port on Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea, Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr., vice chairperson of the House committee on appropriations, said on Sunday.
“The P300 million for the Pag-asa Island Sheltered Port Project is itemized in the DOTr’s Maritime Infrastructure Program in the 2025 national budget,” Campos said in a statement.
With a land area of 37.2 hectares, Pag-asa lies 518 kilometers west of Puerto Princesa City in Palawan province. It is the largest landmass in the Kalayaan Island Group.
“The P300 million will bring to P2.6 billion the cumulative funding for new infrastructure projects in the Kalayaan Island Group,” Campos, the husband of Makati Mayor Abby Binay, said.
In October last year, House Speaker Martin Romualdez visited Pag-asa and vowed to develop the entire Kalayaan Island Group, which he said has the potential to become a tourist haven like the Maldives Islands in the Indian Ocean.
“Following the Speaker’s visit, Congress has since earmarked P1.5 billion to further extend Pag-asa’s 1.3-kilometer runway to accommodate bigger aircraft, plus P800 million for a sheltered port on smaller Lawak Island, both in the 2024 General Appropriations Law,” Campos said.
The Kalayaan Island Group has an aggregate land area of 83.89 hectares spread over seven islands.
Besides Pag-asa and Lawak (7.93 hectares), the other Kalayaan islands are Likas (18.6 hectares), Parola (12.7 hectares), Kota (6.45 hectares), Patag (0.57 hectares), and Panata (0.44 hectares).
Kalayaan also includes Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal), Balagtas Reef (Irving Reef), and Rizal Reef (Commodore Reef).
Two Philippine Coast Guard patrol vessels were recently damaged when they encountered China Coast Guard (CCG) boats whose highly aggressive maneuvers “resulted in collisions” near Escoda Shoal, which is 67 kilometers from Ayungin.
The BRP Cape Engaño and BRP Bagacay were on their way to resupply Philippine military outposts on Lawak and Patag when the incident happened.
President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. created the Municipality of Kalayaan over the Kalayaan Island Group through Presidential Decree No. 1596 issued on June 11, 1978.
A fifth-class municipality under Palawan, Kalayaan is the least populated town in the Philippines, with only 193 residents who all live on Pag-asa, according to the 2020 census.
The Kalayaan municipal government is based in Pag-asa.
The Philippines has been fast-tracking infrastructure projects in the Kalayaan Island Group to encourage civilian settlements there, amid China’s artificial island-building in the larger Spratly Archipelago.
