The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has allotted PHP 450 million to build a new seaport on Pag-asa Island (Thitu Island), said Surigao del Sur Representative Johnny Pimentel according to an InterAksyon report.
The new seaport will “improve accessibility to the area and bolster the country’s claims in the West Philippine Sea” according to the DOTr report submitted to Congress.
“We support the port development project, which will surely help encourage human settlement in the remote Philippine island that now has less than 400 residents, mostly fishermen,” Pimentel affirmed.
Pimentel, a member of the House Committee on National Defense and Security, also encouraged private and public institutions — like University of the Philippines’ Marine Science Institute and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources — to establish research stations in the said island.
Pag-asa Island belongs to the Kalayaan Group of Islands just 518 kilometers from Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. The 37.2-hectare island is home to the smallest municipality in the Philippines.
It is also part of the disputed area claimed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan.
