CAGAYAN -- The Northern Luzon Command (NOLCOM ), through the The Naval Forces Northern Luzon (NFNL) has established a Marine detachment in Fuga Island in Aparri which will be used to establish defense facilities that will safeguard the country's northern islands.
Based on the plans of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), a sheltered pier, a naval station, and a 20-hectare littoral monitoring detachment will be built on the island.
NOLCOM spokesperson Maj. Ericson Bulosan said the Marine detachment in Fuga Island will serve as the advanced AFP security and monitoring unit while completing the conceptual plan of the appropriate defense facilities that will be built.
Fuga Island is located in the municipality of Aparri, Cagayan, which is part of the Babuyan Archipelago, the second-northernmost island of the country.
It is known to have an airfield and is significantly close to the fiber optic cables that connect the Philippines to mainland Asia.
NOLCOM officials said there is an ongoing installation of flag markers and construction of lighthouses in various islands of Cagayan, Batanes, and Babuyan Group of Islands .
NOLCOM, through its naval unit NFNL, is tasked to secure the maritime and sovereign territory of the state.
Recently, the NFNL conducted a flag-raising ceremony in Fuga Island spearheaded by Col. Simplitius Adecer PN, Deputy Commander for Marine Operations of NFNL, and the concurrent Commander of Naval Task Force 12 (NTF 12).
Melchor Visario, village chief of Barangay Fuga, together with other barangay officials, residents, teachers, and students showed their support for the troopers in safeguarding the country’s northernmost islands.