NO THREAT OF ATTACK

Lorenzana: We will not militarize Pag-asa Island

Defense chief Delfin Lorenzana on Wednesday said Pag-asa Island would not be militarized as he sees no threat from other forces in the area.

"We will not militarize our island there, we will not bring in the military equipment to defend it because I don't think there is any threat of attack [on] Pag-asa and eight other islands..." Lorenzana said in a television interview on CNN.

Lorenzana also said the construction of the beaching ramp in the area is already finished. He noted that this ramp would help a lot in bringing supplies and heavy equipment to the island.

"The completion of beaching ramp means big thing to us and to the people of Pagasa. This means we can now bring in more supplies, especially in the repair of the runway because the next project will be the repair of the runway..." he said.

With this development, Lorenzana sees that the living quarters of the individuals there, which include at least 200 civilians, will also improve.

In March, Lorenzana said the presence of Chinese vessels in the vicinity of the island did not in any way interfere with the rehabilitation of the island.

The AMTI or the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative earlier reported that the Philippines has slowly made progress on upgrading the island because of the presence of Chinese militia vessels. — Anna Felicia Bajo/RSJ, GMA News