Kalayaan (Palawan)
| Municipality of Kalayaan | |||
| Location of Kalayaan in the province of Palawan | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|||
| Basic data | |||
| Region : | Western Visayas | ||
| Province : | Palawan | ||
| Barangays : | 1 | ||
| District: | 1. District of Palawan | ||
| PSGC : | 175321000 | ||
| Income class : | 5th income bracket | ||
| Households : | 12 May 1, 2000 census
|
||
| Population : | 184 August 1, 2015 census
|
||
| Population density : | 232.9 inhabitants per km² | ||
| Area : | 0.79 km² | ||
| Coordinates : | 11 ° 3 ' N , 114 ° 17' E | ||
| Postal code : | 5322 | ||
| Geographical location in the Philippines | |||
|
|||
Kalayaan is a Filipino municipality in the province of Palawan . Kalayaan was founded on June 11, 1978 and is both the westernmost and smallest municipality in the Philippines in terms of population. The entire area of the municipality is claimed by the People's Republic of China as part of the city of Sansha in its Hainan Province .
The municipality consists of only one Baranggay named Pag-asa on the island of the same name Pag-asa, one of the Spratly Islands, which are disputed between six states . It has 184 inhabitants (August 1st 2015 census), most of whom are fishermen . The civilian population was settled by the Philippine government to support the Philippine claims to the western part of the Spratly Islands. Once a month a supply ship of the Philippine Navy brings supplies. On the island there is a water filter system, power generators, a weather station and a radio tower of the Philippine SMART Telecommunications .
geography
The municipality of Kalayaan is located in the western part of Palawan Province. It consists of seven islets and a reef and has a total area of 0.79 km².
Pag-asa
The largest island is the Pag-asa (or Thitu ) 11 ° 3 ' N , 114 ° 17' O ha with a surface area of 37.2. Of these covers a 1260 m long runway , both for military aircraft , as well as Civil aircraft is used, 5.6 ha.
Likas
The next largest island, the island Likas (or West York ) 11 ° 6 ' N , 115 ° 2' O . This island is 47 miles northeast of Pag-asa and covers an area of 18.6 hectares. The island is a sanctuary for sea turtles , which lay eggs on the island all year round. The rock foundation is visible to the east and south of the island during low tide.
The high salinity of the groundwater on the island retards the growth of introduced plants such as coconut , ipil-ipil and other species. Only the endemic species thrive and survive in the hot and humid climate, especially during the dry season.
Parola
Smaller than Likas Island, Parola Island (or North East Cay ) is 11 ° 27 ′ N , 114 ° 21 ′ E 28 miles northwest of Pag-asa Island. Parola has an area of approximately 12.7 hectares and is closer to the Vietnam- occupied island of Pugad than to Pag-asa.
The island's rock foundation is visible in the west of the island.
The groundwater has a high salinity, so the vegetation is limited to beach vegetation.
The corals around the island have been largely destroyed by rampant dynamite and cyanide fisheries in the past.
Kota
The island of Kota (or Loaita ) 10 ° 40 ' N , 114 ° 26' E has an area of 6.45 hectares and is 22 miles southeast of Pag-asa. She touches the loaita bank and reef.
The calcarenite rock foundations are visible to the west during low tide. The geological structure in the east consists of sand.
The presence of migratory seabirds increases the phosphorus content of the sand. Occasionally, sea turtles lay their eggs on the island.
Panata
The island Panata (or Lankiam Cay ) 10 ° 43 ' N , 114 ° 32' O is 8 miles north-east of the island Kota. It has an area of 4400 m² (0.44 ha). A few years ago the island still had an area of more than 5 hectares. However, the sandy land area was washed away by high waves during a typhoon, leaving the rock foundation made of calcerinite, which is visible at low tide.
Lawak
Lawak (or Nanshan ) Island, 10 ° 44 ' N , 115 ° 48' E, has an area of 7.93 hectares and is 98 miles east of Pag-asa. The island is a bird sanctuary. Larger phosphate deposits can be found in their vicinity. Superphosphate is broken down on a small scale. Near the breakwaters two miles offshore, intact hard coral reefs are preserved, which are colonized by beautiful tropical fish.
Patag
About 6 miles southwest of Lawak is the island of Patag (or Flat ) 10 ° 50 ′ N , 115 ° 50 ′ E , a sandbar that changes shape depending on the season and the prevailing winds. It has an area of 5740 m² (0.574 ha). Like Panata, Patag is devoid of vegetation. No groundwater could be detected. It is currently used as a military observation post.
Rizal Reef
The Rizal Reef (or Commodore Reef ) 8 ° 21 ′ N , 115 ° 14 ′ E is closest to Balabac. The reef is naturally below the waterline and is manned by a military contingent who have a base there.
topography
The islets that make up the borough are generally flat. The highest point is only two meters above sea level .
history
In 1947, Tomas Cloma , a Filipino adventurer and fishing tycoon , landed on several uninhabited and unoccupied groups of islands and islets in the vastness of the South China Sea 380 miles west of the southern tip of Palawan and established a settlement.
On May 11, 1956, Tomas Cloma, along with 40 men and his brother Filemon, officially took possession of the islands and named them "Freedomland" ( Kalaya-an ).
Four days later on May 15, 1956, Cloma issued a statement, "Note to the Whole World," and sent it to each of the claimed islands to demonstrate a firm manifestation of its unwavering claims in that area.
On May 31, 1956, Tomas Cloma declared the establishment of the Free Territory of Freedomland, ten days later Cloma sent a second representation to the Foreign Minister of the Philippines, which informed that the claimed territory was named "Freedomland".
On July 6, 1956, Cloma issued a statement to the whole world, which included his territorial claims and the formation of a separate government based on Flat Island ( Patag ) for the Free Territory of Freedomland .
The declaration received violent and unfriendly reactions from the governments of neighboring countries, particularly from Taiwan , which responded by stationing soldiers on the nearby island of Itu Aba and intercepting Cloma's men and ships within the immediate vicinity of the island. Unable to overcome the difficulties and pressures, Cloma ceded his territorial claims to the Philippines for one peso .
Spratly Archipelago or Spratlys is the international name for the entire archipelago to which the Kalayaan island chain belongs. This area as a whole is claimed by China, Taiwan and Vietnam . The Philippines essentially only claim the western part of the Spratly Islands, which is the closest to Palawan. Malaysia occupies five reefs. Brunei claims only one reef in the south of the Spratly Islands that is below the waterline. In contrast to the other states, Brunei has no military presence on the Spratly Islands.
There is a conflict between the countries involved over the various territorial claims and counterclaims, which was ultimately triggered by Cloma's territorial claims.
In 1971 the Philippines declared 53 islands of the Kalayaan archipelago to be terra nullius and occupied the islands of Thitu, Flat and Nanshan. The following year Kalayaan was subordinated to Palawan Province.
In March 1976, as a reaction to the growing conflict of interest, the western command of the Philippine Army , based in Palawan, was established by the Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos .
To reaffirm the territorial claims of 1971, Marcos officially annexed the Kalayaan Islands by enacting Presidential Decree No. 1596 on June 11, 1978 and formed an independent municipality called Kalayaan under the political jurisdiction of the Palawan Province , but under the protection of the Ministry of National Defense .
The way in which the township was established bridged the normal course of action prescribed by law ( Local Government Code of 1991 ) and statutory requirements for the formation of a township. The formation of the township should strengthen the development of the area and the Filipino territorial claims.
The very first mayoral election in the post-Marcos era was held on January 30, 1980, and Aloner M. Heraldo was elected first mayor.
The first free election was held on May 11, 1992, and Gil D. Policarpio was elected mayor. Policarpio was in office for nine years until 2001, on July 2, 2001 Rosendo L. Mantes was elected mayor.
swell
- The Spratly Island Dispute: Decision Units and Domestic politics, Chapter 3: An overview, Author: Christopher Chung, PhD-Thesis ( Memento from July 17, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) (English; PDF; 2.9 MB)