Manila: Efforts to develop the potential of a disputed South China Sea territory into a tourism attraction was set in motion at the Senate on Monday.
Senator Edgardo “Sonny” Angara Jr submitted a measure seeking to declare the Philippines-occupied Pagasa Island Cluster in the Spratlys as a special ecological tourism zone to promote and develop the area as a tourist attraction while at the same time protecting its natural resources.
“With its impeccable beauty, the island is an ideal tourist destination. The rich biodiversity and Filipino heritage of the island truly reflects the beauty of a paradise that our country should be proud of,” said Angara as he filed Senate Bill 2938.
Located in the Municipality of Kalayaan in the province of Palawan, Pagasa Island, is situated 480 kilometres off southwestern Palawan. It is the second largest island in the whole of Kalayaan Island Group (Spratlys) in the West Philippine Sea.
Sovereignty over the island is being challenged by China, which claims Spratlys in whole together with about a third of the entire South China Sea territory.
The Kalayaan Island was discovered by Filipino explorer Tomas Coloma during the 1950s who named portions of the island chain Freedomland.
Since its discovery, the Philippines populated Kalayaan initially with soldiers serving as garrison and then with inhabitants during the 1990s.
Today, Kalayaan is considered as a Philippine town and is a fifth-class municipality of that is home to around 300 civilian residents.
Recently, the island of Palawan was hailed the top island destination in the world for the second straight year by Conde Nast Traveler, an award-winning US travel magazine, in its Readers’ Choice Awards 2015.
“While Kalayaan Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon Jr., who has been leading the far-flung island for six years now, is dreaming to add the Pagasa Island Cluster among Palawan’s top tourist destinations, various development projects on the island are still being deliberated. Thus, our proposed measure seeks to provide the necessary support for such efforts of the municipal government of Kalayaan by declaring it an ecological tourism area,” said Angara, the vice-chairman of the Senate tourism committee.
Senate Bill 2938 mandates the creation of the Pagasa Island Ecotourism Cluster Governing Board that would rationalise all efforts pertaining to environmental protection and making the tourism industry a major source of livelihood and an avenue for employment generation.
In addition, the bill also seeks to declare the islands of Parola, Kota and Panata as protected areas under the National Integrated Protected Areas System.
“The Board, in coordination with the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), is mandated to prepare, develop and implement an ecotourism master plan to ensure environment and ecosystem protection and preservation, and to promote tourism and job generation to boost the economy of Kalayaan,” Angara said.