AFP Vows to Defend New Malampaya Gas Field From Intrusions

Jeoffrey Maitem - : Jan 20, 2026 - : 10:42 pm

The Philippine Navy has assured the public it will secure a newly discovered natural gas deposit near the disputed South China Sea, which could help the country avert a potential power crisis. Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy spokesperson...

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The Philippine Navy has assured the public it will secure a newly discovered natural gas deposit near the disputed South China Sea, which could help the country avert a potential power crisis.

Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, said Tuesday the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is more than capable of protecting the newly discovered major natural gas reservoir in the Malampaya gas field off the Palawan coast.

"Monitoring is not about numbers; it is about capability. The PN and the AFP as a whole has the capability to monitor Malampaya East-1 (MAE-1), it being five kilometers adjacent to the Malampaya Project," Trinidad said when asked by reporters whether they are capable of protecting this latest energy discovery of the country against hostile intruders.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced on Monday the discovery of a new natural gas deposit, saying it could eventually supply electricity to more than 5.7 million households—or nearly 200,000 schools—for a year.

The undersea reservoir is estimated to contain about 98 billion cubic feet (2.7 billion cubic meters) of gas.

Initial tests showed that up to 60 million cubic feet (1.6 million cubic meters) of gas could be extracted daily from the well, Marcos said, without giving further details, including a timeline for commercial production.

Trinidad said the unit tasked to secure MAE-1 is Western Command (Wescom), particularly Joint Task Force (JTF) Malampaya.

"The AFP has the monitoring and response capability through JTF Malampaya," Trinidad said.

The new gas deposit, called Malampaya East 1, was discovered by a consortium about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) east of the main Malampaya gas field, where commercial gas production started more than two decades ago and was projected to considerably decline in a few years.

Malampaya, the country’s largest natural gas field, is in Palawan, a province facing the South China Sea.

In 2023, Marcos Jnr signed a 15-year contract extension to drill a new well in the field. The Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre’s 2023 report warned that Malampaya is expected to be depleted by 2027.