FOR all the loud noises government makes in defending what is ours in the West Philippine Sea, it seems that the funds it is proposing in the 2024 national budget for improving military facilities in Pag-asa Island in Kalayaan, Palawan amounts to a whimper.
Thus said Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Ralph G. Recto
For 2024, a measly P80 million, insofar as itemized expenditures in the 2024 budget bill goes, he added.
“Dalawang proyekto lang. Isang nagkakahalagang P40 million para sa pagpapatayo ng isang “igloo-style ammunition storage” at isang P40 million para sa bagong dalawang palapag na military personnel barracks. These two projects are found in the P3.8 billion “Tatag ng Imprastraktura para sa Kapayapaan at Seguridad Program “ or TIKAS program , under DPWH,” said Recto.
The share of Pag-asa Island , which hosts the Rancudo Air Station and Liwanag Naval Station, translates to a mere 2.1 percent of TIKAS funds.
Sana nga meron pang nakatago, nakasiksik sa ibang lumpsum funds sa budget tulad ng P50 billion AFP Modernization Fund for 2024
Or perhaps in the proposed capital outlays of the Navy (P5 billion) and the Air Force (P3.25 billion)
But if it is just P80 million then who would have thought that the government will be proposing a budget that small for a frontline military outpost in the middle of an area rife with tension?
“Maagnas ang airstrip ng Rancudo Air Station doon. Kailangan ng shore protection, Ngunit hindi man lang natilamsikan ng P215 billion in proposed flood control funds, na kabilang ang coastal protection projects, for 2024,” Recto added.
“Katiting lang ang P80 million kung ikukumpara sa P15.9 billion na pondo para sa feasibility studies ng DPWH. Kakapiranggot din lang ang P80 million kung ihahantulad sa P15.2 billion ng road safety and maintenance projects na popondahan mula sa katas ng Motor Vehicle User’s Charge ( MVUC).”
“If P80 million is all there is, then we will be spending more for road guardrails than on an island that guards our interest in the disputed area. Our occupation of Pag-asa is unchallenged . Conventional wisdom dictates that we transform an island we physically possess into a bulwark,” Recto opined.
Intruders in the area are expanding their real estate, through massive reclamation, while ours is in danger of shrinking through coastal erosion.
The P80 million is an oversight that could be remedied by a budget errata sent to Congress upon the President’s order, which proposes a higher amount, or when faced with executive inaction, Congress can do it on its own.
If there are indeed more funds intended for Pag-asa ( for sunk-into-ground land improvements and not movable equipment like aircraft and ships) then itemize them in the national budget so that the nation will be assured that our foothold in that area , that unsinkable aircraft carrier of ours, is constantly maintained, Recto concluded.
