By Celeste Anna R. Formoso
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Nov. 10 (PNA) — The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) here approved Tuesday a measure seeking the declaration of the island town of Kalayaan in the disputed West Philippines Sea as an “eco-tourism destination.”
The measure was filed by Board Member Roseller Pineda of the 1st Palawan District under Resolution No. 337-2015, who hopes that it would be supported by House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and the three congressmen of Palawan – Frederick Abueg, Douglas Hagedorn, and Franz Josef George Alvarez.
Pineda said his resolution in a way supports Sen. Sonny Angara’s Senate Bill 2938, “An Act Declaring Pag-Asa Island Cluster in the Municipality of Kalayaan, Province of Palawan as an Eco-Tourism Destination and Protected Area.”
Accordingly, before the bill moves, it needs the support of the three Palawan congressmen.
Pag-asa Island, the lone barangay of Kalayaan, is only one of the other islands occupied by the Philippines in the West Philippines Sea. The others are Parola, Kota, Likas, Lawak, Patag, Panata, Ayungin Shoal and Rizal Reef. (PNA)