Gatchalian vows allocation for Pag-asa Island in 2027 budget

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian has vowed to provide allocation to key projects in the Pag-asa Island, which is part of the municipality of Kalayaan in Palawan, as it represents the country’s sovereignty and territorial claim over the West Philippine Sea (WPS).

In an ambush interview after visiting the Pag-asa Integrated School on Friday, Gatchalian said that as chairperson of the Senate committee on finance, he commits to support projects for education, health, and governance.

“What I can commit is first, education, health, governance.  So, the schools are being built, I promised the principal that we will fix the campus because we saw that it is inexistent.  We will also have health centers built, and we also promised to put up bigger health centers.  And then, their municipal hall hasn’t been used for a long time, it should be repaired,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

READ: PH maintains activities in Pag-asa Island, Pag-asa Cays lawful

“The important thing is for inhabitants to be comfortable and stay here permanently.  And for their stay to be comfortable.  So what’s essential here is the basic facilities that the government should provide — health, education, governance, peace and order, that is also needed,” he added.

Provision of fuel for the Philippine Coast Guard — especially with the high price of fuel due to the Middle East conflict — will also be ensured, according to Gatchalian.

“And also for the Coast Guard, the government is currently under a lot of stress because of the high cost of fuel.  We know that the Coast Guard uses fuel every single second.  So we committed to support them really with their fuel requirements all the way to the end,” he added.

Taking care of the Kalayaan town, the Senator said, is important despite the area’s size because it “carries the weight of the sovereignty” of the country.

“Like I said, it’s a small island, only a few inhabitants, it’s just like one barangay if it’s in Metro Manila, but this island carries the weight of sovereignty of the entire nation.  Because the residents here prove that there are Filipinos here, we have people of the same nationality here,” he said.

“And we cannot just give out this island because our people reside here.  And since our people are here, this is part of our jurisdiction.  That is what we have to stress,” he added.

This is not the first time that lawmakers vowed funding for the Kalayaan Island Group.  In 2023, during the 19th Congress, former House of Representatives Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez vowed to support a development plan for Pag-asa island in the municipality of Kalayaan, as fisherfolk in the area would need critical infrastructure like storm shelters and solar power plants.

Romualdez — who also flew to Pag-asa island to inspect some projects — said it is very much clear that the country’s defense institutions also need support especially since it is a key outpost in the WPS.

READ: West Philippine Sea: Pag-asa Island airport dev’t among priorities – Marcos

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said that any help would be significant since the area really needs a lot of projects to sustain the fisherfolk’s livelihood and military operations.

During the press briefing on Thursday night, Brawner — who accompanied Romualdez and other House officials to Pag-asa Island — said that among the projects needed by the area are ports, buildings, desalination machines, and power sources.

The WPS is a body of water that is within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, which touches part of South China Sea.  The Philippines has long claimed that the area and encompassing landforms and underwater resources belong to the country, but China has been aggressive in insisting that the area is part of their nine-dash line territorial claim.

Due to the opposing claims, tensions have risen several times, including in February 2025 when the Philippine Coast Guard spotted four Chinese vessels near Bajo de Masinloc, including the so-called monster ship — Chinese Coast Guard vessel CCG 5901.

In the same month, a Chinese military helicopter came as close as three meters above a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources plane which was conducting a maritime patrol of the Panatag Shoal, another sandbar that sits at the WPS. /mr