Would you like to live in the least populated town in the Philippines?
For those who don't know, that particular town is the municipality of Kalayaan in the Kalayaan Island Group situated in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
The town's lone barangay is Pag-asa, which, according to Surigao del Sur 2nd district Rep. Johnny Pimentel, has a grand total of only 193 residents.
“We should populate Pag-asa with as many relevant agencies as possible, while encouraging more civilians, particularly fisherfolk, to live and work there,” Pimentel said in a statement Tuesday, Nov. 1.
“The other countries that claim the Spratly archipelago either as a whole or in part are clearly increasing their visibility on the islands, reefs and shoals that they’ve occupied there. We should do the same,” reckoned Pimentel, a member of the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA) in the House of Representatives.
Pag-asa has been occupied by the Philippines since 1970. The low-lying 37.2-hectare island lies some 480 kilometers northwest of Puerto Princesa City.
A sixth-class municipality, Kalayaan is the least populated town in the Philippines, with only 193 residents who all live on Pag-asa, according to the 2020 census.
Pimentel expects the Philippine National Police (PNP) Maritime Group to permanently deploy two of its newly acquired high-speed gunboats to Pag-asa Island at the northeastern section of the disputed Spratly archipelago.
“The police maritime group already has a new detachment of eight officers led by a major positioned in Pag-asa. We should reinforce them with a couple of gunboats to protect our waters there with seaborne patrols,” the veteran solon said.
“For border protection against smugglers, we also want the Bureau of Customs Enforcement Group’s Water Patrol Division to deploy two of its newly procured fast patrol boats to Pag-asa. They can function as an extension of the bureau’s Puerto Princesa City sub-station,” he added.
Pimentel is a staunch backer of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the United States.