Aquino government spent P500 M for US Naval base in Palawan

The Aquino administration is spending P500 million ($11.12 million) in taxpayers’ money to upgrade a Philippine Naval Base in Ulugan Bay in Palawan Sea, which will serve as one of the US Marine’s command posts to monitor developments in the hotly-contested West Philippine Sea.

On Friday, Navy spokesman Lieutenant Commander Gregory Fabic said the military would build a P500-million ($11.2 million) port at Ulugan Bay, the Philippine military base in Palawan that is nearest to the Spratly Islands. The upgraded naval base would be visited by Aquino on May 20, the 116th anniversary of the Philippine Navy.

The Navy said the mini-naval base in Ulugan Bay would host two refurbished American Coast Guard frigates that regularly patrols the West Philippine Sea.

Read more