Pagasa beaching ramp 40% complete, DND chief says

THE construction of a beaching ramp on Pagasa Island in the West Philippine Sea is on schedule, and it may be finished possibly by December, Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana said on Wednesday.

Interviewed at the sidelines of the 79th anniversary of the Department of National Defense (DND), Lorenzana said the construction of the port project is already more than 40 percent complete.

The construction of the beaching ramp was the first project of the government in years on Pagasa, the seat of the local government of the Kalayaan municipality in the Kalayaan Group of Islands.

The project, once completed, should spawn the repair and rehabilitation of facilities in the island like the Rancudo Airfield, whose works cannot be started due to the absence of a ramp that would support the landing of equipment and materials.

Meanwhile, Lorenzana said that the military’s increased air and maritime patrols, especially in the areas that are being contested by some of its neighbors, has recorded at least 46,694 cases of intrusions, wherein 40, 135 were challenged at sea.  

“The AFP intercepted intrusions to Philippine-claimed features. Littoral monitoring detachments and littoral observatory stations provided common air and maritime operating picture in the West Philippine Sea, Philippine Rise and other parts of Philippine territory,” he said.

“For the period in review, AFP detected 46, 694 incidents and challenged 40,135 vessels passing through the Philippine territory,” he added.

The defense chief said that most of the vessels that have intruded or poached into the country’s maritime waters were Vietnamese fishing boats.

Lorenzana said the military is continuing to beef up the country’s territorial waters, with the Navy conducting at least 3,836 surface missions that covered 143,445 nautical miles of maritime waters.

On the other hand, the Air Force also flew operations along the country’s boundaries, covering 12,157.5 nautical miles.

“These operations greatly enhanced the defense efforts of the government by showing our presence in the areas within the exclusive economic zone,” Lorenzana said.

As part of its strategy to establish maritime presence and maintain effective occupation of Philippine claimed island and features, the military has deployed 288 personnel in these areas.