The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is set to spend P300 million to build a new sheltered port on Pag-asa Island in the West Philippine Sea, according to Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr.
The lawmaker said the budget is for the Pag-asa Island Sheltered Port Project and is itemized in the DOTr’s Maritime Infrastructure Program in the 2025 national budget.
Campos is vice chairperson of the committee on appropriations.
With a land area of 37.2 hectares, Pag-asa lies 518 kilometers west of Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.
It is the largest landmass in the Kalayaan Island Group.
“The P300 million will bring to P2.6 billion the cumulative funding for new infrastructure projects in the Kalayaan Island Group,” Campos said.
In October 2023, Speaker Martin Romualdez visited Pag-asa and vowed to develop the entire Kalayaan Island Group, which he said had the potential to become a tourist haven, like the Maldives Islands in the Indian Ocean.
“Following the Speaker’s visit, Congress has since earmarked P1.5 billion to further extend Pag-asa’s 1.3-kilometer runway to accommodate bigger aircraft, plus P800 million for a sheltered port on smaller Lawak Island, both in the 2024 General Appropriations Law,” Campos said.
