Kalayaan municipality, which includes the Pagasa island, is 280 nautical miles northwest of Puerto Princessa (Palawan) and 579 miles southwest of Metro Manila. According to the 2010 census,it has a population of 222 people and is one of the poorest towns in The Philippines, consisting of a single barangay located on Pag-asa Island, which also serves as the seat of the municipal government.
The town has a dilapidated airstrip, a 5-bed lying-in clinic, and a small elementary school.
Once a strictly a military installation, Pag-asa was opened to civilian settlement in 2002.
Watch this documentary video which I hope will serves as a wake-up call to the Philippine government officials! A glimpse of the Spratlys, Kalayaan Island Municipality and how the military and some residents survived the poorest living conditions. It’s really pitiful to know this, my tears literally flowed from them. Thanks to a foreign correspondent Mr. Eric Campbell of ABC.
