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Government is earmarking P800 million to construct the Lawak shelter port in the Kalayaan Island Group
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The funds have been allocated to the Department of Transportation under the 2024 General Appropriations Act
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The Lawak shelter port project is on top of the P1.5 billion expansion of Pag-asa Island, according Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr.
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The project will boost maritime security in the West Philippine Sea and provide safe harbor to Filipino fishermen
The Philippine government has allocated P800 million for the construction of the Lawak shelter port project in the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG).
The funds have been allocated to the Department of Transportation under the Maritime Transportation Infrastructure Program in the 2024 General Appropriations Act, said Makati City 2nd District Representative Luis Campos Jr., who is also vice chair of the House Committee on Appropriations.
The project is expected to boost maritime security in the West Philippine Sea and provide safe harbor to Filipino fishermen.
Campos noted the funding is on top of the P1.5 billion for the expansion of the Pag-asa Island airport.
Lawak, the second-largest landmass in the Philippine-administered KIG, situated in the northeastern section of the Spratlys, will benefit from the P800-million investment.
Considered a bird sanctuary, Lawak, with a total land area of 7.39 hectares, is 157 kilometers east of Pag-asa, the largest island in the KIG. Apart from Lawak, the KIG comprises Likas, Parola, Kota, Panata, Patag, Rizal Reef and Ayungin Reef.
Classified as a sixth-class municipality, Kalayaan is the Philippines’ least populated town, with 193 residents recorded in the 2020 census, all residing on Pag-asa.
The Kalayaan municipal government operates from Pag-asa island.
