CLAIM: Photo showing an airport in the West Philippine Sea.
RATING: FALSE
A Facebook user posted a reel containing a photo of a supposed airport and falsely claimed that it was located in the West Philippine Sea.
The Facebook reel featured screenshots of a cropped news article highlighting the Philippines’ initiative to establish an airport on an island in the South China Sea.
It also displayed edited text that read “WOW! AIRPORT SA WEST PHILIPPINE SEA” and emphasized the slogan “ATIN ‘TO” (“This is ours”), along with a Philippine flag.
The reel misleadingly implied that the photo was captured within the country’s exclusive economic zone.
The photo shown in the Facebook reel was a design proposal from 2014 by the Chinese government for a military base at Mabini Reef, which was held by the China State Shipbuilding Corp.
In 2014, the photo was also used by different news organizations, which credited the Chinese firm for it.
On July 18, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said in his speech in Palawan that the development of Pag-asa Island Airport, located at Kalayaan, Palawan, part of West Philippine Sea was one of the top priorities of the administration.
Marcos Jr. said that the Pag-asa Island Airport development project would boost tourism and enhance transportation efficiency in the province.
On Dec. 25, 2023, the Department of Budget and Management released the budget allotment for the development and expansion of Pag-asa Island Airport. Leigh San Diego
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