PH facilities in WPS to get P3.2 billion funding

NOT FOR CARGO The current airstrip on Pag-asa Island can’t serve cargo planes. Photo taken in August 2020. —INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The Armed Forces of the Philippines said the allocation of P3.2 billion for the expansion of the Pag-asa airport and a shelter port in Lawak Island in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) is “a strategic investment in strengthening our external defense posture.”

Col. Francel Margareth Padilla, spokesperson for the AFP, said on Thursday these infrastructure improvements would “enhance logistical support and operational readiness for our personnel, ensuring that we remain prepared to safeguard our national interests.”

“This initiative is a clear affirmation of our unwavering commitment to protecting our sovereignty and territorial rights in a manner that promotes regional stability and cooperation,” Padilla told the Inquirer.

Rear Adm. Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said runway expansion and the new shelter port would be “very timely” for the Navy and the entire AFP.

He stressed these projects would “increase the military’s capability to project its forces in the West Philippine Sea,” which is in line with Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC).

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said the CADC would “project our defensive capabilities to secure not only the land base of the Philippines but its exclusive economic zone and other areas where we have jurisdiction.”

Islands like the Maldives

House appropriations chair Rep. Zaldy Co earlier said the budget for both projects have been included in the 2025 national budget after the House deliberations.

He earlier told reporters that C-130 planes, which usually carry goods and personnel, could not land on the 1-kilometer runway at Pag-asa.

Co stressed there is a need to finish the 1.5-kilometer runway on the island as he hoped the airport could also be used for commercial purposes.

“So if we can transform it into tourism at least we can claim back what the government invested on it, because the islands there look like the Maldives,” he said.

New shelter port

Under the 2025 budget, a total of P300 million is also allocated under the Department of Transportation for the construction of a new shelter port in Pag-asa.

During his July visit to Puerto Princesa City, Palawan’s capital, President Marcos said the development of the Pag-asa airport was among the priorities of his administration.

Pag-asa is the Philippine-occupied island in the Spratlys inhabited by a population of about 300. It is about 480 kilometers from Puerto Princesa City.

A number of Chinese vessels have been swarming in the vicinity of Pag-asa as Beijing continues to assert its sweeping claims in the South China Sea, including parts of the West Philippine Sea.