(Contributed photos)
Camp Aquino, TARLAC CITY – Northern Luzon Command’s (Nolcom) Naval Forces Northern Luzon conducted a flag-raising ceremony on Fuga Island on August 8.
The men and women of Naval Forces Northern Luzon (NFNL) attended the event, led by Col. Simplitius Adecer, the deputy commander for Marine Operations of NFNL, and the concurrent commander of Naval Task Force 12 (NTF 12).
Melchor Visario, the chairman of Brgy. Fuga alongside other barangay officials, residents, teachers, and students showed their support to the troopers in safeguarding the parameters of the country’s sovereign claim in the north.
Last August 7, Nolcom, through the NFNL, established a Marine detachment in the area to constitute and execute the plans of Armed Forces of the Philippines to build defense facilities on the island, which will include a sheltered pier, a naval station, and a 20-hectare littoral monitoring detachment.
Fuga Island is a part of the Babuyan Archipelago, the second-northernmost island of the country.
It was recently known for the existence of an airfield and is significantly close to fiber optic cables that connect the Philippines to mainland Asia and is key to the country’s push for better internet and communication infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the ongoing installation of flag markers and construction of lighthouses in various islands of Cagayan, Batanes, and Babuyan Group of Islands is made possible with the joint efforts of Nolcom, NFNL, and Philippine Coast Guard.
Nolcom, through its naval unit, NFNL, will do its mandated task to secure the maritime and sovereign territory of the state, and help in the overall development of communities in the area. (PR)
