EO expands duty-free areas; gains seen for SBMA, LGUs

Manila Bulletin - Jonas Reyes

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and local government units near this premier Freeport agreed to work together in the effort to generate more economic opportunities.

This came about after President Arroyo issued Executive Order No. 675, which expands the area where people may benefit from the tax- and duty-free privileges granted to this freeport.

"We all see that the best course for us is to coordinate and cooperate for the common good," said SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza, referring to his recent meeting with officials of Olongapo City, Bataan and Zambales.

"We acknowledged both the challenges and opportunities that EO No. 675 brings us, and we concluded that we should synergize, lest we all stagnate," he said.

Arreza met last week with Bataan Gov. Enrique Garcia, Olongapo Mayor James Gordon Jr., Olongapo Vice Mayor Cynthia Cajudo, Castillejos Mayor Wilma Billman, and San Marcelino Mayor Joker Rodriguez during a program honoring Subic’s LGU stakeholders.

"It’s a short, but very productive meeting," said Arreza, who briefed the officials on the $ 1.45-billion investment commitments generated by the agency in the last nine months.

"Our LGU partners agreed that it will be easier for SBMA to bring out investments and employment opportunities from the Freeport to the nearby communities now that the President has issued EO 675," Arreza said.

The executive order, signed by President Arroyo last Nov. 5, amended EO 97A, which provides that the tax- and duty free incentives provided under Republic Act (RA) 7227 are granted only to business establishments and residents in the secured area of the Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone.

Arreza said the expansion of coverage of the tax- and duty-free privileges now benefits the nearby communities as they can take advantage of the spillover of business in the Subic Freeport, which has a limited area for expansion.

Under EO 675, the SBMA, as manager of the Subic Freeport, is given the authority to identify, fence, and secure additional "secured areas" where tax- and duty-free perks may be allowed.

Arreza said the SBMA, in consultation with the affected LGUs, will identify the areas that will be developed stating early next year.

In the same meeting, the local officials expressed their satisfaction over SBMA’s economic performance in the past 15 years, and recalled how the SBMA brought about the "Subic miracle" after the US Navy withdrew pulled out in 1992.

"If it seemed the end of the world for many when the Philippine Senate did not ratify the Philippines-US military agreement, many can see today that those fears were unfounded," said Governor Garcia.

"As you can see, the social and economic developments happening in the Subic Freeport are now filtering out into the nearby communities," he added.

This observation was shared by Vice Mayor Cajudo of Olongapo, Mayor Billman, and Mayor Rodriguez.

Billman, who admitted that she favored the retention of the US military bases "like most of the residents of Olongapo and parts of Zambales and Bataan," said she and her American husband, who was then working at the Clark Air Base, panicked over the impending closure of the bases.

"We really didn’t know what would happen to our family when the bases finally closed," she said.

"However, those fears and uncertainties that bothered us later turned into amazement as we saw how the newly created freeport grow into a bustling economic zone."