Subic aches for stability
Chaff from the Grain
Hector Villanueva, MB
"Be sure you’re RIGHT, then go ahead."
– David Crockett
INVESTOR confidence in the Subic Bay Freeport zone, which was badly shaken not only by the political turmoil in Manila but also by the squabbling over positions in the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Board which manages the vast and strategically located former US Navy military base, has returned and stabilizing since President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo had decisively reaffirmed the retention of Administrator Alfredo "Freddie" Antonio as both Chairman and Administrator and CEO which position is a fixed six-year term.
Under the SBMA Charter, the position of Chairman/Administrator is held by one person, and should not have been split to accommodate former Board Chairman Francisco Licuanan who subsequently resigned when his recommendee to the position of Administrator to succeed Alfredo Antonio, who was earlier appointed to the Monetary Board, did not materialized.
To heed off possible escalation of local political dynastic rivalry over positions, President Arroyo saw the wisdom of retaining Alfredo Antonio as Chairman/Administrator pursuant to the provisions and mandate of the SBMA law.
Thus, with the stability, continuity, and tranquility returning to Subic with the retention of Freddie Antonio by President Arroyo, a tacit expression of trust and confidence, Japanese and Taiwanese businessmen, or locators, have also reaffirmed their faith in the Philippines.
Administrator Freddie Antonio, an economist from Ateneo de Manila University, an MBA from Bernard Baruch College of New York, and successful former Chairman of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), has pledged not only to erase the image of Subic as a smuggling haven but had also promised to make "turnaround time," which is extremely critical to the electronics industry, up to international standards by expediting Customs clearances for incoming raw materials and outgoing shipments and exports.
Thus far, the "Maginot line," so to speak, is holding with the retention of Chairman/Administrator Antonio. The political feud among rival political families of Zambales and Bataan seemed to have quieted down with the departure of Chairman Francisco Licuanan.
Subic Bay Freeport Zone, which was created by RA 7227 after the expiration of the RP-US Military Bases Agreement in 1990, was once the single biggest American naval facility outside continental USA, and straddles the naval reservation, Olongapo City, Subic town, and San Antonio in Zambales, and Hermosa and Morong in Bataan, with total land area of 67,500 hectares.
As Freddie Antonio would muse, "Subic can be the edge of the promised land that this country can be."
You be the judge.
Hector Villanueva, MB
"Be sure you’re RIGHT, then go ahead."
– David Crockett
INVESTOR confidence in the Subic Bay Freeport zone, which was badly shaken not only by the political turmoil in Manila but also by the squabbling over positions in the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Board which manages the vast and strategically located former US Navy military base, has returned and stabilizing since President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo had decisively reaffirmed the retention of Administrator Alfredo "Freddie" Antonio as both Chairman and Administrator and CEO which position is a fixed six-year term.
Under the SBMA Charter, the position of Chairman/Administrator is held by one person, and should not have been split to accommodate former Board Chairman Francisco Licuanan who subsequently resigned when his recommendee to the position of Administrator to succeed Alfredo Antonio, who was earlier appointed to the Monetary Board, did not materialized.
To heed off possible escalation of local political dynastic rivalry over positions, President Arroyo saw the wisdom of retaining Alfredo Antonio as Chairman/Administrator pursuant to the provisions and mandate of the SBMA law.
Thus, with the stability, continuity, and tranquility returning to Subic with the retention of Freddie Antonio by President Arroyo, a tacit expression of trust and confidence, Japanese and Taiwanese businessmen, or locators, have also reaffirmed their faith in the Philippines.
Administrator Freddie Antonio, an economist from Ateneo de Manila University, an MBA from Bernard Baruch College of New York, and successful former Chairman of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), has pledged not only to erase the image of Subic as a smuggling haven but had also promised to make "turnaround time," which is extremely critical to the electronics industry, up to international standards by expediting Customs clearances for incoming raw materials and outgoing shipments and exports.
Thus far, the "Maginot line," so to speak, is holding with the retention of Chairman/Administrator Antonio. The political feud among rival political families of Zambales and Bataan seemed to have quieted down with the departure of Chairman Francisco Licuanan.
Subic Bay Freeport Zone, which was created by RA 7227 after the expiration of the RP-US Military Bases Agreement in 1990, was once the single biggest American naval facility outside continental USA, and straddles the naval reservation, Olongapo City, Subic town, and San Antonio in Zambales, and Hermosa and Morong in Bataan, with total land area of 67,500 hectares.
As Freddie Antonio would muse, "Subic can be the edge of the promised land that this country can be."
You be the judge.
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9:18 AM
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