₱91.05 million (2020), 37.74 million (2012), 42.09 million (2013), 47.51 million (2014), 54.42 million (2015), 59.8 million (2016), 68.03 million (2017), 73.02 million (2018), 82.19 million (2019), 97.59 million (2021)
₱277 million (2020), 43.22 million (2012), 51.84 million (2013), 58.96 million (2014), 84.32 million (2015), 97.75 million (2016), 141.7 million (2017), 151.1 million (2018), 173.8 million (2019), 310.7 million (2021), 321.3 million (2022)
₱76.9 million (2020), 33.4 million (2012), 37.33 million (2013), 39.52 million (2014), 42.22 million (2015), 46.95 million (2016), 62.62 million (2017), 61.77 million (2018), 69.28 million (2019), 84.44 million (2021)
₱103.3 million (2020), 3.445 million (2012), 5.944 million (2013), 5.359 million (2014), 18.61 million (2015), 19.23 million (2016), 55.8 million (2017), 45.98 million (2018), 47.31 million (2019), 112.2 million (2021), 28.24 million (2022)
Kalayaan, officially the Municipality of Kalayaan (Tagalog: Bayan ng Kalayaan), is a 5th class municipality under the jurisdiction of the province of Palawan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 193 people making it the least populated town in the Philippines and in Palawan.[3]
Part of the Spratly Islands, in the South China Sea, the Kalayaan municipality, which includes Thitu Island (locally known as Pag-asa, the administrative center of Kalayaan Island Group) is 280 nautical miles (320mi; 520km) northwest of Puerto Princesa and 932 kilometres (503nmi; 579mi) south-west of Metro Manila. It consists of a single barangay named Pag-asa located on Thitu, which also serves as the seat of the municipal government. Besides Thitu Island, the municipality comprises six other islands: West York Island, Northeast Cay, Nanshan Island, Loaita Island, Flat Island (South China Sea) and Lankiam Cay (respectively locally named Likas, Parola, Lawak, Kota, Patag and Panata), and three shoals or reefs: Irving Reef (Balagtas Reef), Second Thomas Shoal (Ayungin Shoal) and Commodore Reef (Rizal Reef).[5] It is the least populated municipality in the Philippines. Kalayaan's annual budget is 47 million pesos (about $1.1 million).[6]
There are records of various cultures in the region passing through the islands for trade. Permanent populations and military stations only became apparent in the 20th century.[7][8][9]
In 1734, the Spanish colonial government in the Philippines published the first edition of the Velarde map, which details territories under full sovereign control of Spanish Philippines, including Scarborough Shoal (called Panacot in the indigenous language in the map) and Kalayaan or Spratly Islands (referred in the map as Los Bajos de Paragua), and is the earliest map to showcase the sovereignty of a nation over Scarborough Shoal and the Spratly Islands.[10][11][12] The official territories of the Philippines was again published in the 1808 Carita General del Archipelago Filipino and again in the 1875 Carita General del Archipelago Filipino, which continued to include the Kalayaan islands.[10][11][13]
After the Spanish-American War, Spain lost and ceded the territory of the Philippines to the United States through the 1898 Treaty of Paris. The 1898 Treaty of Paris created a treaty line, where Scarborough Shoal, the Kalayaan or Spratly Islands, and parts of Tawi-tawi continued to be under Spanish sovereignty. This led to talks between Spain and the United States, which ended upon the signing of the 1900 Treaty of Washington, which rectified retroactively the 1898 Treaty of Paris. Under the 1900 Treaty of Washington, "all islands belonging to the Philippine Archipelago, lying outside the lines described in Article III" were also ceded to the United States as part of the territory of the Philippines, where Scarborough Shoal, the Kalayaan or Spratly Islands, and the rest of Tawi-tawi was included.[10][14][15] From 1899 to 1902, the United States war department in the territory of the Philippines republished and reissued four times the 1875 Carita General del Archipelago Filipino with the addition of military telegraph lines, military cable lines, eastern cable company lines, and military department boundaries. The official map of the entire Philippine territory under Spanish rule was effectively adopted as the entire Philippine territory under American rule.[16] During the 1928 Islas Palmas international case, the United States, as representative of the territory of the Philippines, reiterated in a court memorandum that the 1875 Carta General del Archipielago Filipino "is both an American official and a Spanish official map" of Philippine territory, bounding the United States on its recognition of the Scarborough Shoal and the Kalayaan or Spratly Islands as Philippine territory.[17][18]
Under the Commonwealth of the Philippines, the 1935 Constitution was adopted, reiterating the national territory of the Philippines, which included Scarborough Shoal and the Kalayaan or Spratly Islands.[19] After regaining independence in 1946, the Philippines again asserted its claims to the Spratly islands. The Americans at the time discouraged the Philippines to avoid conflict with the Chinese government of Chiang Kai-shek, who was an ally of the United States. In 1946, Vice President Elpidio Quirino reiterated the "New Southern Islands", the forerunner name for Kalayaan, as part of the Philippines.[20]
In 1947, Tomás Cloma stumbled upon the Kalayaan islands, which were uninhabited at the time.[20] On May 11, 1956, together with forty men, Cloma took formal possession of the islands, lying some 380 miles (610km) west of the southern end of Palawan and named them the "Free Territory of Freedomland". Four days later, Cloma issued and posted copies of his "Notice to the Whole World" on each of the islands as "a decisive manifestation of unwavering claim over the territory".[21][22] On May 31, 1956, Cloma declared the establishment of the Free Territory of Freedomland, ten days after sending his second representation to the Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs, informing the latter that the territory claimed was named "Freedomland".[21] On July 6, 1956, Cloma declared his claim to the whole world and the establishment of a separate government for the "Free Territory of Freedomland" with its capital on Flat Island (Patag Island). His declaration was met with violent and unfriendly reactions from several neighboring countries especially the Republic of China (ROC; on Taiwan since 1949), when it effectively garrisoned the nearby island of Itu Aba and intercepted Cloma's men and vessels found within its immediate waters on September 24, 1956. In 1974, Cloma ceded his rights over the islands to the government of the Philippines for one peso, after being imprisoned.[23]
In 1978, the Municipality of Kalayaan was created through Presidential Decree No. 1596[24] taking effect on June 11, 1978.[20] This established what the document described as "a distinct and separate municipality of the Province of Palawan".
PD 1596 defined the boundaries of the municipality as follows:
From a point [on the Philippine Treaty Limits] at latitude 7º40' North and longitude 116º00' East of Greenwich, thence due West along the parallel of 7º40' N to its intersection with the meridian of longitude 112º10' E, thence due north along the meridian of 112º10' E to its intersection with the parallel of 9º00' N, thence north-eastward to the intersection of parallel of 12º00' N with the meridian of longitude 114º30' E, thence, due East along the parallel of 12º00' N to its intersection with the meridian of 118º00' E, thence, due South along the meridian of longitude 118º00' E to its intersection with the parallel of 10º00' N, thence Southwestwards to the point of beginning at 7º40' N, latitude and 116º00' E longitude.
i.e. 7º40'N 116º00'E; west to 7º40'N 112º10'E; north to 9º00'N 112º10'E; NE to 12º00'N 114º30'E; east to 12º00'N 118º00'E; south to 10º00'N 118º00'E; SW to 7º40'N 116º00'E.
In 2009, Republic Act No. 9522,[25] which defined the archipelagic baselines of the Philippines, was enacted into law. It gave additional weight to the Philippines' sovereignty over the Kalayaan Island Group under Section 2, sub-paragraph A which described the territory as a "Regime of Islands"—a concept defined in the United Nation Convention on Law of the Sea for similar bodies of land.[26]
In 2012, the government began its legal battle against China in international court.[27][28] The court proceedings occurred from 2013 to 2016. In 2016, the dash-line utilized by both the Republic of China (Taiwan) and People's Republic of China (PRC) was declared as invalid by the South China Sea Arbitration ruling.[29][30][31]As of November 2023[update], 26 governments support the ruling, 17 issued generally positive statements noting the ruling but not called for compliance, and eight rejected it.[32]
In addition to the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Malaysia all claim the Spratly Archipelago either as a whole or in part. The Philippines occupies 10 reefs and islands. The People's Republic of China presently occupies seven reefs. The Republic of China (Taiwan)'s solitary island is the largest in the archipelago at approximately 43 hectares (0.43km2). Vietnam occupies 21 islets and reefs. Malaysia claims 7 reefs including Layang Layang which currently hosts a naval base and a diving resort.[33]Investigator Shoal is currently under de facto administration of Malaysia although is claimed by the Philippines as part of the municipality.[34]
Geography
Unofficial NAMRIA map showing features in the Kalayaan Island Group (Spartly Islands). Features names are those recognized by Philippine government.
Kalayaan is located in the western section of the Province of Palawan. It consists of one barangay:
Pag-asa
Currently, the barangay exercises jurisdiction over eight islets (four of which are cays) and three reefs, with an aggregate land area of approximately 79 hectares (0.79km2; 200 acres; 0.31sqmi). They are as follows:
In the 2020 census, the population of Kalayaan was 193 people,[3] with a density of 0.67 inhabitants per square kilometre or 1.7 inhabitants per square mile. The civilian population, which includes children, was introduced in 2001.[40]
Infrastructure
Kalayaan municipality has an airstrip, a naval port, a five-bed lying-in clinic, an evacuation center, a municipal covered court, a police station, a coast guard station, a marine research station, and a small integrated elementary and high school.[41] Formerly an exclusively military installation, Thitu Island was opened to civilian settlement in 2002.[41][42][43]
Rancudo Airfield
Thitu Island (Pag-asa) hosts a 1,300-meter runway constructed in the early 1970s on orders of Major General Jose Rancudo, Commanding General of the Philippine Air Force. In February 1992,[44] the Armed Forces of the Philippines named the runway "Rancudo Airfield" in honor of its architect.
Beaching Ramp and Seaport
On June 9, 2020, the Department of National Defense led the inauguration of a beaching ramp on Thitu Island (Pag-asa) which was finally completed after three years. The facility enabled to bring in more materials and equipment to repair and maintain the airstrip and building of other facilities.[45] Also, Department of Transportation (DOTR) confirmed that the new seaport and sheltered port in Thitu Island is completed and ready to operate by June 12.[46][47]
Telecommunications
Smart Telecommunications established a cell site, connected to its main network via VSAT (Very-small-aperture terminal), on Thitu Island (Pag-asa) in 2005 making normal GSM-based cellphone communication with the island possible. The first call on the system took place on June 12 at 5:18 PM between the mayor of the municipality at the time and a Smart Telecom executive. The company completed a maintenance visit to the cell site in 2011, thus ensuring continued operation of the facility.[48] However, the cell site was inactive since 2015.[49] On August 30, 2020, Smart Telecommunications repaired and upgraded its cell site for 4G/LTE services in Thitu Island (Pag-asa).[50][51]
In April 2021, the Department of Information and Communications Technology announced the installation of free Wi-Fi facilities at Pag-asa Intergrated School, Barangay Hall, and other sites on the Thitu Island. This has allowed children on the island to continue with their distance learning.[52][53]
Power supply
By day, the residents get electricity from a power generator owned by the municipal government. By night, they shift to stored solar power that comes from 1.5-volt solar panels installed on the Thitu Island.[54] On June 12, 2021, The National Power Corporation switched on its P33 million Kalayaan Diesel Power Plant project that covered the supply, delivery and installation of the 300 kilowatt diesel generating sets, a 13.8-kilovolt (kV) distribution line and fuel oil storage tanks, providing round-the-clock power to the facilities on the Thitu Island.[55][56]
Environment
On June 8, 1982, Loaita (Kota) and Lankiam (Panata) islands were designated as marine turtle sanctuaries by the Ministry of National Resources (MNR) when it issued Administrative Order No. 8.[57]
Government
Mayor Eugenio B. Bito-Onon Jr., August 23, 2015.
The first recorded election in Kalayaan was on January 30, 1980, where Aloner M. Heraldo was elected as the first municipal mayor.
The Municipality of Kalayaan "demilitarized" on January 18, 1988, and the first appointed mayor, Alejandro Rodriguez, was replaced by his appointed vice mayor, Gaudencio R. Avencena.
The first free election was held on May 11, 1992, where mostly young municipal officers under the leadership of Mayor Gil D. Policarpio served for nine years (1992-2001).
A new administration assumed office on July 2, 2001, when Mayor Rosendo L. Mantes won the election on May 14, 2001.
The Spratly Islands are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea. Composed of islands, islets, cays, and more than 100 reefs, sometimes grouped in submerged old atolls, the archipelago lies off the coasts of the Philippines, Malaysia, and southern Vietnam. Named after the 19th-century British whaling captain Richard Spratly who sighted Spratly Island in 1843, the islands contain less than 2 km2 of naturally occurring land area, which is spread over an area of more than 425,000 km2 (164,000 sq mi).
West York Island, also known as Likas Island, and several other names. With an area of 18.6 hectares, it is the third largest of the naturally occurring Spratly Islands, and the second largest of the Philippine-occupied islands. It is 530 yards (485 m) wide, 330 yards (302 m) long, and its highest elevation is 30 feet (9 m).
Scarborough Shoal, also known as Panacot,Bajo de Masinloc, Huangyan Island, Minzhu Jiao, and Panatag Shoal, are two skerries located between Macclesfield Bank to the west and Luzon to the east. Luzon is 220 kilometres (119 nmi) away and the nearest landmass. The atoll is a disputed territory claimed by the Republic of the Philippines through the Treaty of Washington in 1900 via the 1734 Velarde map, as well as the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan). The atoll's status is often discussed in conjunction with other territorial disputes in the South China Sea, such as those involving the Spratly Islands, and the 2012 Scarborough Shoal standoff. In 2013, the Philippines initiated arbitration against China under UNCLOS. In 2016, the tribunal ruled that China's historic title within the nine-dash line was invalid but did not rule on sovereignty.
Thitu Island, also known as Pag-asa Island ; Đảo Thị Tứ ; Zhongye Dao, having an area of 37.2 hectares, it is the second largest of the naturally occurring island in Spratly Islands. It lies about 500 kilometers (310 mi) west of Puerto Princesa. Its neighbors are the North Danger Reef to the north, Subi Reef to the west, and the Loaita and Tizard Banks to the south. As the poblacion of the Kalayaan municipality of Palawan province in the Philippines, it also administers nearly a dozen other islets, cays and reefs in the Spratly Islands. The island is 270 nautical miles west from Palawan, Philippines.
Loaita Island also known as Kota Island, with an area of 6.45 hectares -- is the tenth largest of the naturally-occurring Spratly Islands, and the fifth largest of the Philippine-occupied islands. It is located just to the west of the northern part of Dangerous Ground, and is 22 miles (35 km) southeast of Philippine-occupied Thitu Island (Pag-asa) and 22 miles (35 km) north-northeast of Taiwan-occupied Itu Aba Island.
The Philippines has claims on territories which include the Spratly Islands, portions of North Borneo, and the Scarborough Shoal.
Philippines and the Spratly Islands – this article discusses the policies, activities and history of the Republic of the Philippines in the Spratly Islands from the Philippine perspective. Non-Philippine viewpoints regarding Philippine occupation of several islands are currently not included in this article.
Northeast Cay, also known as Parola Island, with a land area of 12.7 hectares, is the fifth largest of the naturally occurring Spratly Islands and the third largest of the Philippine-occupied islands. It is part of the North Danger Reef and is located to the northwest of Dangerous Ground.
Nanshan Island, also known as Lawak Island, is the eighth largest natural island of the Spratly Islands, and the fourth largest of the Philippine-occupied islands. It has an area of 7.93 hectares. It is located 98 miles (158 km) east of Thitu Island (Pag-asa).
Mischief Reef, also known as Panganiban Reef, is a low tide elevation (LTE) reef/atoll surrounding a large lagoon in the southeastern region of Dangerous Ground in the east of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. It is located 250 kilometres (130 nmi) west of Palawan Island of the Philippines. Administratively, it belonged to the Kalayaan Islands municipality of the province of Palawan. It is also under the de facto jurisdiction of Nansha, Sansha City, Hainan province, China. Activities by the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the mid-2010s have created a large artificial island on the atoll including an approximately 2,700-metre (8,900 ft) runway and associated airfield.
The Free Territory of Freedomland was a micronation that covered the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea from 1956 to 1974. It was established by Tomás Cloma.
The Spratly Islands dispute is an ongoing territorial dispute among Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam concerning "ownership" of the Spratly Islands, a group of islands and associated "maritime features" located in the South China Sea. The dispute is characterized by diplomatic stalemate and the employment of military pressure techniques in the advancement of national territorial claims. All except Brunei occupy some of the maritime features.
Territorial disputes in the South China Sea involve conflicting island and maritime claims in the South China Sea made by Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, the People's Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan, and Vietnam. The disputes involve the islands, reefs, banks, and other features of the region, including the Spratly Islands, Paracel Islands, Scarborough Shoal, and various boundaries in the Gulf of Tonkin. The waters near the Indonesian Natuna Islands, which some regard as geographically part of the South China Sea, are disputed as well.
Reed Tablemount is a large tablemount or guyot in the South China Sea north-east of Dangerous Ground and north-east of the Spratly Islands. It covers an area of 8,866 square kilometres (3,423 sq mi), but with depths between only 9 and 45 metres. The submerged but hydrocarbon-rich area includes Nares Bank and Marie Louise Bank.
Irving Reef, also known as Balagtas Reef, is a coral atoll in the Spratly Islands, South China Sea. It is occupied by the Philippines as part of Kalayaan, Palawan, and is also claimed by the People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Vietnam.
Eugenio B. Bito-onon Jr. is a Filipino politician and member of the Liberal Party, who has been elected Kalayaan Mayor twice, serving since 2010. He was re-elected in May 2013, winning his re-election bid with 108 votes against rivals Noel Osorio and Rosendo Mantes. Bit-onon failed in his re-election bid in 2016, coming in second place with 59 votes and losing to the eventual winner Roberto "Choy" M, del Mundo with 142 votes.
The article covers events relevant to the ongoing territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Even before the common era, maritime trading networks had already been established in the high seas of the region. Prior to World War II, China, France, and Japan disputed over the Paracel and Spratly Islands. After the war, Brunei, Malaysia, the People's Republic of China, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam became involved in the conflict.
Pag-asa is a Tagalog language word meaning "hope". It may refer to:
The exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, per the mandate of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), consists of four subzones. It covers 2,263,816 square kilometers (874,064 sq mi) of sea. The Philippines has 7,641 islands comprising the Philippine archipelago. The zone's coordinates are between 116° 40', and 126° 34' E longitude and 4° 40' and 21° 10' N latitude. It is bordered by the Philippine Sea to the east and north, the South China Sea to the west, and the Celebes Sea to the south.
↑ "Socio-Economic and Physical Profile"(PDF). The 2018-2027 Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Municipality of Kalayaan. p.7. Archived(PDF) from the original on 2022-10-15. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
↑ "Timeline". History of the Spratlys. www.spratlys.org. Archived from the original on 21 March 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2014.
↑ Chemillier-Gendreau, Monique (2000). Sovereignty Over the Paracel and Spratly Islands. Kluwer Law International. ISBN9041113819.
↑ China Sea pilot, Volume 1 (8thed.). Taunton: UKHO - United Kingdom Hydrographic Office. 2010. Archived from the original on 2014-03-21. Retrieved 2014-06-26.
↑ Womack, Brantly (13 February 2006). China and Vietnam. Cambridge University Press. p.218 footnote 18. ISBN9781139448444. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
↑ "PD 1596". Pasig, Philippines: Chan Robles Virtual Law Library. Archived from the original on 26 October 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
↑ "Republic Act No. 9522". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. 10 March 2009. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
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