Marcos orders DPWH to check, upgrade Kalayaan Island Group infra

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to personally assess conditions in the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) in the West Philippine Sea.

He wants the agency to determine what infrastructure projects are urgently needed by the community there, according to Malacañang.

In a briefing on Wednesday, Palace press officer Claire Castro said the president instructed Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon to visit the remote islands and evaluate ongoing and proposed projects.

According to Castro, the DPWH recommended building a new port and airway at the KIG.

Congress earmarked P1.6 billion to develop the Pag-asa Island airport and P300 million for a shelter port in the 2025 national budget.

An additional P1 billion was also allotted for the second phase of the Lawak Island shelter port.

Asked for an update on the utilization of these funding and the construction of the infrastructure, Castro said the DPWH will still have to review this “to ensure the implementation of what the president wants for the KIG.”

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The Palace issued the statement after Akbayan party-list Rep. Percival Cendaña proposed a P462-million funding in the 2027 budget for the construction of road networks, sewerage and waste treatment facilities, evacuation centers and other infrastructure in KIG.

The amount will also cover dormitories for medical personnel and teachers, local government operations center, housing units, multipurpose building and a mini bus for local government operations.

“Our support for the residents of the Kalayaan Island Group must go beyond rhetoric,” Cendaña said. “Our fellow Filipinos, the residents and heroes of KIG have many needs.”

“We cannot leave them hanging. We need to provide them with much-needed resources. We must strengthen and support our heroes… because freedom must be protected and nurtured,” he added.

The lawmaker made the commitment during a ceremony on Tuesday in Quezon City, where the Akbayan and Atin Ito coalition recognized the 16 local officials of Kalayaan, who were banned by the Chinese government from entering China after standing against the actions of its embassy in Manila.

The local government of Kalayaan had declared Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Jing Quan persona non grata within its municipal jurisdiction, citing supposed violations of diplomatic protocol and interference in Philippine internal affairs.

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Located west of Palawan, KIG is a group of over fifty features and their surrounding waters that belong to the Philippines, located in what is internationally known as the Spratly Islands.

The Kalayaan municipality was created in the KIG under Palawan province by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1596 issued by President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in 1978.

The Philippines has occupied nine features in the KIG since the 1970s: Rizal (Commodore) Reef; Patag (Flat) Island; Panata Island (Melchora Aquino Cay / Loaita Cay); Kota (Loaita) Island, Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, Likas (West York) Island, Lawak (Nanshan) Island, Parola (Northeast) Island and Pag-asa (Thitu) Island.

Pag-asa, the largest island in the KIG, serves as the town proper of the Kalayaan municipality.

The island has been occupied by the Philippines since 1971, and has a permanent community of around 400 residents. It also has an airfield and a naval base. /apl