PCG receives ship from PH Red Cross; chief wants West PH Sea deployment

The Philippine Red Cross ship

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Friday said it received a 55-meter vessel from the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), whose chief expressed hopes of a West Philippine Sea deployment.

This ship was formally donated through the deed of donation signing ceremony at the PRC National Headquarters in Mandaluyong City on Thursday.

PRC chief and former senator Richard Gordon and PCG commandant Adm. Ronnie Gil Gavan led this ceremony.

“He (Gordon) shared his hope for the vessel to be used effectively, particularly for missions to remote areas like Pagasa Island,” the PCG said in a statement.

Pag-asa (Thitu) Island is the largest maritime feature in the Kalayaan Island Group, which serves as the seat of the local government of the Municipality of Kalayaan in Palawan in the West Philippine Sea.

READ: West PH Sea: New hangar on Pagasa Island finished before yearend – AFP

More than 400 civilian locals — including some 70 children — call the island home together with stationed military, law enforcement, and civilian government personnel.

China, however, asserts ownership over Pagasa Island in line with its sovereignty claim in the entire South China Sea, which was effectively dismissed by an international tribunal ruling in 2016.