bito-onon is a pioneer and town planner who moved to thitu island in 1997 to help strengthen filipino sovereignty claims to the south china sea. believing that a civilian presence helps to strengthen filipino claims to the south china sea. bito-onon helped to establish the first deliberately settled civilian town in the spratlys on thitu island in 2001. in june 2012, he helped establish the pag-asa elementary school, the first school on thitu island. referred to by hayton as cloma's heir, bito-onon also oversaw the completion of a small statue of tomas cloma on thitu island.