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STRONG PRESENCE

January 20, 2025 Jester P. Manalastas 76 views

THE administration will be spending additional P3.03 billion this 2025 to bolster its infrastructure buildup in the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) in the northeastern section of the disputed Spratly Island.

According to Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel, the Congress has earmarked an additional P1.66 billion to develop the Pag-asa Island Airport and another P300 million for the Pag-asa shelter port.

The Congress also allocated an extra P1.08 billion to construct the second phase of the Lawak Island shelter port.

The three projects are fully itemized in the 2025 General Appropriations Law.

“The P3.03 billion in new appropriations is in addition to the combined P2.3 billion allocated by Congress for the Pag-asa airport and the Lawak shelter port in 2024,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel is the author of a bill that seeks to transform Pag-asa into a recreational fishing tourism destination.

He is also the author of a separate bill that proposes an initial P5-billion appropriation to build new naval forward operating bases in the West Philippine Sea, primarily to secure the natural gas and oil deposits beneath the seabed.

Pag-asa lies 508 kilometers northwest of Puerto Princesa City.

With a land area of 37.2 hectares, Pag-asa is the largest island in the KIG.

Lawak, with a land area of 7.93 hectares, is the fourth-largest island in the KIG and lies 169 kilometers east of Pag-asa.

With an aggregate land area of 83.89 hectares, the KIG also includes the islets of Likas, Parola, Kota, Patag, and Panata.

The island group also includes Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal), Balagtas Reef (Irving Reef), and Rizal Shoal (Commodore Reef).

The Municipality of Kalayaan was created over the KIG under the Province of Palawan by virtue of a presidential decree issued by President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in 1978.