P3 Billion Allocated for West PH Sea Projects

The Philippine government has allocated an additional PHP 3.03 billion in 2025 to bolster infrastructure development in the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) within the disputed Spratly Archipelago.

“Congress has earmarked an additional PHP 1.65 billion to develop the Pag-asa Island airport, plus PHP 300 million for the (Pag-asa) shelter port,” Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said in a statement on Sunday.

“We have also allocated an extra PHP 1.08 billion to construct the second phase of the Lawak Island shelter port,” Pimentel added.

The projects are fully itemized in the 2025 General Appropriations Law, Pimentel noted. He previously served as chairperson of the House committee on strategic intelligence.

The new funding is in addition to the PHP 2.3 billion allocated by Congress in 2024 for the Pag-asa airport and the Lawak shelter port, according to Pimentel.

Pimentel authored a bill proposing to transform Pag-asa Island into a recreational fishing tourism destination. He also authored a separate bill that seeks an initial PHP 5 billion to establish new naval forward operating bases in the West Philippine Sea to secure natural gas and oil deposits beneath the seabed.

Pag-asa Island, located 508 kilometers northwest of Puerto Princesa City, is the largest island in the KIG with a land area of 37.2 hectares.

Lawak Island, the fourth-largest in the group, spans 7.93 hectares and lies 169 kilometers east of Pag-asa.

The KIG, with a total land area of 83.89 hectares, also includes the islets of Likas, Parola, Kota, Patag, and Panata. It encompasses Ayungin Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal), Balagtas Reef (Irving Reef), and Rizal Shoal (Commodore Reef).

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