THE seaport project in the heavily contested Pag-asa Island is slated to commence operations on June 12, the Department of Transportation reported late on Thursday.
In 2017, the Philippine Congress allotted P450 million to the department for the construction of a port within Kalayaan, Palawan, also called the Spratly Islands, located in the West Philippines Sea.
Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade told President Rodrigo R. Duterte during the meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) that there will be no formal ceremony to open the port.
“Sabi ko wala nang inaugurate-inaugurate. Mahigit 10 ‘yan. Sabi ko, operate na lang (I said, there will be no inauguration. There might be more than 10 people to attend. I said, just operate it),” Mr. Tugade said.
On May 13, the Philippine Navy was able to dock a vessel at Pag-asa for the first time as construction of the port was about 90% complete. The ship’s visit was part of its rotation and reprovisioning mission through various detachments among the Kalayaan islands.
A beaching ramp and a 1.3-kilometer airstrip project by the Department of Defense are also nearing completion. These are meant to expedite the delivery of construction materials to the island.
In 2017, President Duterte ordered the reinforcement of Pag-asa. Less than 400 residents reside on the remote island, which has one elementary school and a five-bed clinic.
It was reported that China has militarized seven reefs in Kalayaan which the Philippines has also been claiming. The government established the island town in 1978.
In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration affirmed the Philippines’ exclusive sovereign rights over the disputed islands in the West Philippine Sea.
Meanwhile, also at the IATF-EID meeting, Mr. Tugade said an electronic ticketing system for maritime transportation is set to run by December.
“By December, pwede nang umpisahan (the ticketing system can start). Ngayon, nasa test run (it is currently undergoing a test run). May ticket na pag sumakay ka ng maritime vessels (There will be tickets now when you travel via maritime vessels),” the Transportation official said.
He said the ticketing system, which is currently employed in train and aviation platforms, would eliminate tickets reselling and overloading of ships. — Adam J. Ang
