On this tiny piece of land, 389 Filipinos have settled down and made a home, making them a remote yet closely monitored community with a direct stake in the future of the disputed South China Sea. Among them is Marilou Vales, 54, who first visited this 37-hectare island in 2004. Pag-asa back then had no pier, so they had to disembark from their ship while still quite far from the coast, using a rope ladder to transfer to a rubber boat for the final stretch to the shore. Vales arrived as part of a summer tour organized by the municipality of Kalayaan, Palawan province, where she worked as a local government employee.

Corrales, N. (2024, December 9). Building hope in Pag-asa amid China’s constant threat. Philippine Daily Inquirer, pp. I1, I2.