The National Maritime Council (NMC) underscored the Marcos administration’s commitment to sustaining the civilian community on Pag-asa Island despite rising Chinese aggression in the West Philippine Sea.
NMC officials said helping the small population thrive reflects President Marcos’ whole-of-government approach, which seeks to uphold national sovereignty while extending essential services to remote yet strategically significant areas.
Led by Presidential Assistant for Maritime Concerns Secretary Andres Centino, the NMC technical working group visited Pag-asa to assess conditions, meet with local officials and residents, and deliver medicines from the Department of Health.
“This activity is significant to personally visit the place, having consultations with the local officials and the residents of the island, and also have a hands-on sense of how we are asserting our presence in this part of the West Philippine Sea,” Centino said on Thursday.
“This visit will give insight into how we come up with the necessary policy recommendations to ensure that we have a continued presence here in this part of the country,” he added.
Pag-asa Island, part of the municipality of Kalayaan in Palawan, is one of the Philippines’ forward communities in the WPS and has long served as a symbol of the country’s territorial integrity.
Joining the delegation, Undersecretary Leandro Roy Cervantes of the Office of the Executive Secretary, highlighted the value of first-hand information in shaping sound policy.
“The most important thing is getting the feel on the ground—seeing the actual island, the people, their circumstances. The insights I gained here are invaluable so that I could give inputs to the Executive Secretary and the Council to help draft better, more effective policies,” Cervantes said.
For his part, NMC spokesperson Undersecretary Alexander Lopez echoed the same sentiment, noting that the visit allowed the council to assess the needs of Kalayaan from multiple perspectives—political, socio-economic, and environmental.
“This is a thriving civilian community and local government unit. So, we need support from the national government, that’s why we are here to see for ourselves how we can address those challenges and needs,” Lopez said.
The NMC’s visit also coincided with the observance of Maritime and Archipelagic Nation Awareness Month.
