AFP eyes Kalayaan Islands economic boost

The military earlier revealed plans to turn Pag-Asa — the largest of the nine Philippine-occupied features in the KIG

Following plans to develop Pag-Asa Island into a logistics hub for security forces, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is now looking at how economic activity and environmental protection can be enhanced for the entire Kalayaan Island Group (KIG).

AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Cirilito Sobejana said in a virtual meeting with Palawan Governor Jose Alvarez, who also chairs the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) that they view it as a strategic and critical national security frontier, particularly in the interests of ecological balance and sustainable development.

The military earlier revealed plans to turn Pag-Asa — the largest of the nine Philippine-occupied features in the KIG — into a hub for security forces patrolling the West Philippine Sea.

The recent completion of a beaching ramp on Pag-Asa as well as repairs to the eroded airstrip is expected to play part in the plans.

Sobejana also revealed that they are eying to turn Pag-Asa into a haven for Filipino fishermen and a tourist destination — a plan first suggested in 2012 and pledged the military’s support for such moves, which will require expansion and construction of facilities for sustaining an increase in economic activity.

The military chief also expressed support for the Palawan provincial government’s proposal to declare the entire KIG as a protected area under Republic Act 7586, or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System.