Absolute Service, Inc. wins the 2011 ECOP KAPATID Award

Absolute Services, Inc.(ASI), a duly registered company based in Subic Bay Freeport Zone was among the 13 companies nominated for the coveted award and was chosen as the Grand KAPATID Awardee for 2011.

Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) Kapatiran sa Industria or KAPATID Awards is a biennial event which recognizes companies that exemplify good business practices in the fields of industrial relations, productivity and quality, social accountability, and strategic visioning and partnering for business and job survival.

No less than the President of the Republic, His Excellency Benigno Aquino III handed over the award to Professor Danilo J. Piano, ASI President during a ceremony held last Thursday.

ASI was also a recipient of the Best Employer Award given by the Social Security Service (SSS) for not only sustaining and surpassing the superior service and high quality work but also providing job opportunities to all regardless of age, sexual orientation, and physical capacity.

Subic eyed as retirement destination

Eyeing the development of Subic Bay as a prime retirement facility, the Philippine Retirement Authority and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority signed a memorandum of agreement with the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce for a more effective promotion of the Freeport in the world market.

The agreement was signed the other day by PRA Chairman Edgar Aglipay, SBMA Chairman Feliciano Salonga, SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza, and SBFCC president Danny Piano at the SBMA Board Room.

The three parties agreed to integrate their marketing and promotional activities, including information dissemination, public relations, special events, and other retiree-related tourism programs to maximize Subic’s market reach.

Each party also committed to act as an advocate for the design and development of new products and investment opportunities for foreign retirees and tourists, thereby enhancing retiree-related sites, facilities, and services through tourism planning and product development.

“Only through strong partnerships and consolidation of individual corporate goals into one, could the retirement industry in Subic match up with those in the neighboring countries of Asia,” Aglipay said.

Aglipay reiterated that the Philippines has almost all the advantages — climate, manpower, culture and services — to outmatch other Asian nations in the retirement business, especially since Filipinos are known worldwide for being highly efficient and professional.

Salonga, meanwhile, noted that the agreement “was very timely, since the number of foreign retirees seeking a safer and more comfortable place to live in is increasing.”

A large number of these retirees visiting Subic Bay have settled here for a time, he added.

Arreza said that the Subic Bay Freeport has world-class retirement facilities, including the Subic Holiday Villas, a modern leisure and retirement village that can accommodate up to 500 retirees plus their families. By FRANCO G. REGALA - Manila Bulletin

SBMA: No rush to close Subic airport

SUBIC BAY FREE PORT—While the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA) is losing money ever since Federal Express transferred its Asia One logistics hub from here to China in February last year, Subic authorities are still reluctant to close it down.

Armand Arreza, administrator and chief executive officer of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), said they are still evaluating its viability and exploring alternatives for the SBIA, which serves as a secondary airport and a main diversion terminal for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.

“There is no rush to close the airport,” Arreza told Subic locators in a recent meeting. “Actually, we are still marketing the airport and looking for other alternatives to make it useful.”

Arreza said among the options under consideration is turning part of the 200-hectare airport into a logistics area.

“If we convert 40 hectares of the airport’s 200-hectare area, then we can raise about $80 million,” Arreza said.

“This 40-hectare portion could serve as a logistics area, while the rest could be used for commercial development,” he added.

The SBIA grew from what was the Naval Air Station when Subic was still an American military base.

Built in the early years of the SBMA in the hope of servicing both passenger and cargo planes, the SBIA is equipped with a 2,728-meter runway, modern navigational systems, and a 10,000-square meter passenger terminal that could handle 700 passengers at any given time.

The airport can also take in 41 commercial aircraft, a capacity proven in the past few years when Taiwanese passenger planes were diverted to Subic after the island-nation was buffeted by typhoons.

Since 1996 until February last year, the Subic airport served as the Asia-Pacific hub of courier giant FedEx. But when FedEx planes flew out to China for good in 2009, the SBIA was largely relegated to serving as the base for training schools.

Meanwhile, the dream of having passenger airlines making connecting flights to Subic never really took off after some attempts by several firms.

According to SBMA records, aircraft movement in the Subic free port significantly dropped from 108,686 in 2008 when FedEx still operated out of Subic, to just 57,246 in 2009.

Similarly, passenger movement plummeted from 10,682 in 2008 to only 7,059 in 2009.

Arreza said that due to slow business, the airport has been missing out on its $20-million loan payments.

“Economically, it doesn’t make sense anymore to continue its operations,” Arreza said in a recent media briefing. “It doesn’t even break even anymore, as it did when FedEx was still here.”

Arreza said the planned conversion of part of the Subic airport is consistent with the SBMA expansion program, which was meant to address the limited commercial and industrial space in Subic’s controlled area.

“The trend now in Subic is to move out of the central business district, and even outside the traditional boundaries, the fenced-in portion,” Arreza said.

“We will now focus on developing significant infrastructure facilities in those areas in

Locators raise concern on Subic’s new plans

Some of the new plans of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) are raising concerns among locators and investors.

In a statement, SBMA administrator Armand C. Arreza clarified concerns about the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA), the Kalaklan bridge construction, and the Ayala Land project.

Arreza disclosed that the SBMA is still evaluating the viability of closing the airport.

"There is no rush to close the airport," he told members of the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (SBFCCI) at a recent congress.

"Actually, we are still marketing the airport and looking for other alternatives to make it useful," Arreza said.

Arreza also assured the chamber that the 30 locators to be affected by the construction of an Ayala Land mall would be given options to either relocate their businesses inside the mall, or move into a commercial building to be built nearby.

Ayala Land is expected to start construction of the mall in April this year and to finish in 2012.

Arreza also briefed locators on the scheduled closure of the Kalaklan bridge starting March 1, to pave the way for the construction of a P200-million new bridge and security plaza. Arreza earlier explained that the construction project would have to go on as scheduled, lest local businesses would lose out during both the peak tourism season during Christmas and in summer next year.

The Locators Congress was held recently at the Global Terminals and Development, Inc. office in Subic. The congress, which was organized as an annual event, focused on business issues and concerns of business locators.

Arreza also disclosed that the SBMA will now spread development efforts to communities in Olongapo, Zambales and Bataan, which are outside the controlled or fenced-in portion of the Subic Bay Freeport.

Arreza earlier explained that the SBMA’s expansion program was meant to address the limited commercial and industrial space in Subic’s controlled area, wherein a huge environmental preserve is located, as well as to create livelihood opportunities that would directly impact on the neighboring communities.

"We will now focus on developing significant infrastructure facilities in those areas in order to generate more investments outside the traditional boundaries of the Freeport," Arreza said.

"But we need funds to build public infrastructure projects that will convince more investors to pour their money into the Subic Bay area," he said.

PGMA supports billboard ban at SCTEX

Gloria favors billboard ban on new road

Joyce Pangco Pañares - Manila Standard Today

PRESIDENT Gloria Arroyo said Sunday she wanted billboards banned along the 94-kilometer Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway that might block the view from the newly built road.

“I will ask our legal team to look at the laws we can invoke to ensure there will be no billboards along [the new road],” she says.

Deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar said safety considerations also led to the Palace position that billboards should not be allowed to proliferate along the expressway.

Earlier, the members of the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce said they opposed billboards on the highway because those could harm tourism in the area.

“Imagine the ill-effects that billboards will bring to Subic and the areas along [the highway],” group head Danny Piano said.

“[They] will destroy the beautiful landscape along the expressway, which is the foundation of the local tourism industry.

Piano said his group had already sent its position paper to the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, which in turn said it “fully supports the movement to protect the beautiful scenery along [the highway].”

But the agency said only the Public Works Department had jurisdiction over billboards and the authority to take any of them down when it saw fit.

Related Articles

http://subicbaynews.blogspot.com/2009/06/subic-business-wants-billboards-banned.html

A RESOLUTION UPHOLDING ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 160 SERIES OF 2006 WHICH DIRECTS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS TO ABATE AND DISMANTLE BILLBOARDS SPECIFICALLY ALONG THE SUBIC-CLARK-TARLAC EXPRESSWAY (SCTEX)

New bridge project set in Subic

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) announced the start of a bridge project this month to replace the Kalaklan Bridge that was built by the United States (US) Navy in the early ‘60s.

The bridge, one of the existing four bridges linking this free port to nearby Olongapo City, will be replaced by a new two-lane concrete bridge with covered walkway and a security plaza.

Other facilities to be constructed in the immediate area include a parking lot and an administration building that will also house satellite offices of the SBMA Treasury, SBMA Seaport Department, and the Bureau of Customs.

SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza said the bridge project is part of the agency’s efforts to prepare necessary infrastructures for the eventual expansion of the Subic Bay Freeport into nearby areas like Olongapo.

“This is part of the SBMA program to push beyond Subic’s secured area,” Arreza said, referring to the fenced portion of the free port that previously housed the Subic Naval Base.

He added that two bridges leading to Olongapo are actually set for replacement after SBMA engineers, after they have been analyzed as “structurally weakened.”

The bridge leading to Subic’s main gate has also been closed to vehicle traffic since last year, he added.

Joselito Bakuteza, head of the SBMA project management office, said that “all necessary preparations to minimize the effect of the project to various stakeholders, as well as motorists and commuters, were discussed.”

Bakuteza said the Kalaklan Bridge will be closed to all vehicles and pedestrians starting February 15 and March 1, respectively.

The contractor, RD Policarpio and Company, Inc., will close the old span and cordon it off during full-blast construction to fast-track the project and ensure the safety of passersby, he added. By FRANCO G. REGALA - Manila Bulletin

For more information and to participate in the on-line discussion regarding this article, please join the SBFCC discussion board by following these links.

General information about the Kalaklan bridge closure and construction

Update Resulting from Multi-Sector Meeting

The next meeting will be hosted by Metro Olongapo Chamber of Commerce at Kong's Restaurant on Monday 2pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1tvmXNwG6Y

Video report on bridge closure

Subic businesses eyeing P100-M AdCon income

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – A whopping P60 million to P100 million worth of income could be earned by local businesses here during the 21st Philippine Advertising Congress (PAC) meet at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center (SBECC) on November 18 to 21.

An analysis from Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce (SBFCC) executive director Kenneth Peralta said that a conservative revenue estimate from holding this year’s PAC would garner some P60 to P70 million.

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), on the other hand, said that it would eventually exceed the expected target of P70 million as SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza pointed out that the hotel industry inside this premier Freeport, including nearby communities such as Olongapo City, would get the bulk.

Most of which, he said, would trickle down to other industries such as transportation, food and beverages, duty-free shops and other tourism establishments.

He said that around 10,000 people who will be participating in the congress would at least spend P10,000 each for the four-day stay during the AdCongress (AdCon).

He added that he got the calculations from the congress itself, as 3,500 delegates would be coming over along with their families.

An awards night that would also prove to be a crowd-drawer is the Araw Awards, a culminating feature of the congress that recognizes the best works in the advertising industry.

“The 21st AdCon will be an early Christmas present for Subic Bay, Olongapo City, and even the contiguous areas of Bataan and Zambales,” said Arreza.

Local businesses, meanwhile, are working on their end to prepare hotels and restaurants for the PAC, which is considered as the local advertising industry’s version of the Oscar Awards, said SBFCC’s Peralta.

The SBFCC, a private, non-profit organization established in 1995 by business locators in this free port, has done the same in 2007’s installment of the advertising event.

Peralta, however, admitted that this year’s congress is, comparably “very, very challenging.”

“In 2007, we were given five months to prepare. This year, barely three weeks,” said Peralta, noting the sudden shift of the congress venue from Baguio City to Subic because of the heavy damage sustained by roads leading to the original venue.

Peralta also noted that the SBMA workforce is working at a very impressive pace, impressing both the local businessmen and the 21st PAC organizing committee. By JONAS REYES - Manila Bulletin

Subic locator awarded by SSS as Best Employer

Absolute Service, Inc–Philippine Branch, a typesetting and book composition company located inside the Subic Freeport since 1995 was awarded by the Philippine Social Security System agency with a plaque for Best Employer in the Olongapo/Subic area in the medium-sized company category. Medium-size category is one with 500 or less employees.

The SSS turned 52 this year. The anniversary celebration for the Central Luzon Region was held September 8, 2009 at the Teatro Convento in Nayong Pilipino at the Clark Expo in Clark Field, Pampanga.

The awards are tributes given to organizations that significantly contributed to the SSS' pursuit of its mandate. The organizations are honored for their compliance to the provisions of the SSS Law in terms of coverage, collection, giving out of benefits, accuracy and timeliness of their submission of reports, participation in SSS programs, and for putting the well-being of their employees in high regard.

ASI specializes in medical, technical, and K12 books. Its Philippine Branch is headed by its President & CEO, Prof. Danny Piano. Prof. Piano is also the current president of the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce. subicchamber.org

SBFCC gave help to typhoon victims in Olongapo

Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce donated recently 27 boxes of food and clothing to the victims of typhoons in Olongapo City. The donations were turned over to the Local Government Unit which supervised its distribution to the needy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LOySQRIZig

SBFCC under the leadership of their current president, Professor Danny Piano in four occasions delivered relief goods to Botolan flood victims and recently, truckloads of goods worth half million pesos turned over to the Philippine National Red Cross to help our countrymen in Metro Manila.

Zambales under state of calamity

THE whole province of Zambales is now under state of calamity due to severe damage caused by Typhoon Kiko.

This was confirmed by Philippine Navy spokesman Lt. Col. Edgard Arevalo, saying because of the heavy damages in the province, Zambales Gov. Amor D. Deloso declare the whole province under a state of calamity.

Aside from Zambales, also hit by Typhoon Kiko were provinces of Pampanga, Tarlac and Northern Philippines.

Arevalo said as part of government efforts to help affected residents the Navy disaster response teams has been on alert.

He said six disaster and rescue response (DRR) teams, two from the Naval Forces Northern Luzon and four from the Naval Education and Training Command rescued a total of 521 persons in flash- floods in Central and Northern Luzon.

The teams of around 80 officers and enlisted personnel rushed to Botolan, Zambales, particularly at Barangays Paco, Bangan and Carael to conduct rescue and assistance operations in response to the distress call.

Each DRR team is equipped with one M35 truck with DRR trailer, two rubber boats and complete DRR equipment.

Aside from these, members of Provincial Disaster Coordination Council boarded the Navy’s aircraft PN Islander 312 and conducted air reconnaissance of the flooded areas in Zambales.

NETC also transported 100 sacks of relief goods from Olongapo to Botolan.

The Navy’s immediate response to distressed citizens in times of natural calamities affirms the Navy’s multi-faceted role in carrying out non-combatant missions. By: Zaida delos Reyes-Palanca - Journal online

Meanwhile, the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce lead by Prof. Danny Piano is continually sending donations to the affected areas...

Follow link below to discuss this article or to send donations

http://subicchamber.org/DiscussionBoard/index.php?topic=82.0

http://subicchamber.org/DiscussionBoard/index.php?topic=83.0

Subic business wants billboards banned along SCTEx

SUBIC BAY FREE PORT — Businessmen in this free port are now advocating for a ban on commercial billboards along the scenic Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx), pointing out that an unsullied view of the natural landscape would be a better come-on for tourists.

Prof. Danny Piano, president of the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce (SBFCC), said tourists have expressed appreciation of the billboard-free view along the SCTEx, adding that a lack of clear-cut policies on commercial billboards might spur the proliferation of giant outdoor advertisements along the 94-kilometer expressway.

“The scenery along SCTEx, when blocked by giant billboards, could also seriously harm tourism in the area,” Piano warned.

“[Billboards] will destroy the beautiful landscape, which is the foundation of the tourism industry,” Piano said during the recent taping here of The Freeport Forum, a new television show covering developments in Subic and the Clark Free Port.

He added that concerned government agencies should come up with clear and strict policies against the erection of billboards along the SCTEx, which was built to hasten the flow of goods and services between economic centers in the Central Luzon region.

Piano said Subic businessmen, who consider tourism as a major industry in this free port, believe it is in the best interest of the public to prohibit billboard advertisements along the SCTEx.

“There is a growing movement to make this so,” Piano said, adding that his group’s position is backed by several organizations and local government units (LGUs).

Piano said the SBFCC has sent a position paper on the proposed billboards ban to Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) president Narciso Abaya, who reportedly committed his agency’s full support to protect beautiful sceneries along the SCTEx.

However, Piano said the BCDA hedged on its jurisdiction over billboards erected outside the right-of-way (ROW) limits of the SCTEx, saying that outside the ROW, the rights of owners of the private properties will prevail.

Because of this, Piano said the national government must integrate policies related to the construction of billboards and place the responsibility of implementation under a single agency.

“In the meantime, agreements between [concerned] agencies and LGUs could be employed [to effect the billboards ban],” Piano said.

He added that Olongapo City has already passed a resolution for the abatement and dismantling of billboards along the SCTEx.

Last year a Pampanga board member voiced the same sentiment, and recently CDC director Maximo Sangil asked the same from Abaya, according to Piano.

Piano also pointed out that one reason why European countries like Great Britain, Germany, France, Ireland and Austria retained their appeal to visitors despite rapid development in their respective countryside was the prohibition of billboards along highways.

“Business people in these countries recognize that an unmarred landscape promotes tourism and benefits them in the long run,” Piano said.

In the United States, he added, the state of Vermont, likewise, recorded a 50-percent rise in tourism in the first two years that its highways became billboard-free.

Meanwhile, the move to ban commercial billboards along the SCTEx is gaining support from users of Facebook, a popular social-networking site online. To date, 157 Facebook users have joined the cause to preserve the scenery along the SCTEx and “save the virgin countryside from commercialism.” Written by Henry Empeño - Business Mirror Correspondent

IN PHOTO -- IF the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce could have its way, billboard advertising would be banned along the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway for an unimpeded view of the landscape during the drive over the mountains of Zambales. NONIE REYES

Subic freeport reinvents itself amidst global recession

Armand Arreza, administrator of the Subic Bay free port, points to a photo of the Bay and explains his plans to convert the sprawling enclave from a light industrial zone into a tourism and logistics hub. Photo courtesy: AFP.

SUBIC BAY (AFP) - May de los Santos used to make laptops and mobile phones at a high-tech Taiwanese electronics factory in Subic Bay free port.

She joined the ranks of the laid off as the global financial crisis kicked in, but the 31-year-old has since been training to work as a chambermaid in a local hotel.

"I don't mind going to these classes. I am used to hard work and the hotel industry is the one with demand for workers," she told AFP.

She is one of an army of laid-off workers who are being retrained to meet the demands of the free port, said Severo Pastor, an official of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, the government agency that oversees the enclave.

And these days, he said, that demand is coming from tourism.

Like de los Santos, the port is adapting to the times--transforming from a light industrial zone to a tourism zone and regional logistics hub.

Free port administrator Armand Arreza says Subic's manufacturing future had been in question even before the crisis hit its electronics companies.

For years, low-wage competition from China and Vietnam has been luring companies away and a recent upgrade of Clark, just 75 kilometres (47 miles) from here rendered many of Subic's facilities redundant.

Both Subic and Clark were once US military bases that employed thousands of Filipinos. But a 1992 US military pullout left the Philippines scrambling to find alternative uses for the facilities and jobs for the locals.

Amazingly, Subic adapted swiftly and efficiently, transforming from a naval base into a 13,600-hectare (33,600-acre) free port with an international airport and factories that turned out electronics, garments, shoes, armoured vehicles and medical equipment.

Special "techno-parks" were set up for Taiwanese and Japanese manufacturers.

Federal Express (FedEx) established its Asian courier hub in 1996, using the former base's military airport while South Korea's Hanjin Heavy Industries built a shipyard in 2006 that is now the world's fourth largest.

This year however low-wage rivals abroad and the economic crisis have forced Subic factories to retrench more than 4,000 workers or place them on "forced leave," said Arreza.

FedEx shut its Subic hub in February, moving to China with its larger market and attractive perks.

Arreza said the situation is improving and some workers may be re-hired but he doubts that Subic will ever return to the days of the 1990s.

"Low-cost manufacturing is not the area where Subic is competitive," he said. "Most of our land area is protected forests and protected seas. We don't have any space to accommodate large industrial parks."

Only 4,000 hectares of Subic can be developed compared to 30,000 hectares in nearby Clark.

The future lies in tourism, medical care, ship building and logistics, using the ample space still available for warehouses especially around the largely unused Subic airport, said Arreza.

Hanjin is staying put and companies that require skilled labour may also find it more economical to remain in Subic, he said.

For displaced workers, the government is offering re-training for positions in Subic's tourism industry or even abroad.

Its well-preserved forests, wide seafront and recreational facilities and hotels have always made it popular with tourists and a new highway has made the area even more accessible to day-trippers.

There are no figures on Subic tourist arrivals but Arreza notes that between 8,000 and 10,000 cars of non-free port workers enter Subic everyday, presumably many of them carrying tourists.

Zenaida Pineda, 40, a former electronics worker here, said she now earns as much working as a chambermaid in a Subic hotel as she did at her factory job.

"I like housekeeping more because you can move around, not just stay at your work station. Besides, working on electronics hurt my eyes," she said.

Prof. Danny Piano, president of the local chamber of commerce, said, "Subic manufacturers can survive. The Philippines has the capability to do good high-end work," due to workers' better education, communication and English skills.

Subic exported $977.8 million worth of goods last year.

"There needs to be a balance between industry and tourism. After all, this is a free port," Piano said. (By MYNARDO MACARAIG/AFP)

Subic businessmen back $120-m tourism project

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT - A group of investors belonging to the influential Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce has expressed support to the $120-million hotel-casino project of Grand Utopia Inc. of South Korea.

The chamber said in a statement that the project would ultimately increase tourism in the free port central business district and create at least 5,000 jobs.

“It will lend itself further to the viable and continued economic success of the free port,” the statement said.

The manifesto of support was signed by chamber president Danny Piano, who is also president and chief executive of Absolute Service Inc., and vice president Romeo Duran of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Law Offices.

Other signatories were chamber treasurer Dante Pollescas of Subic Enerzone Corp.; corporate secretary Rose Baldeo of Global Ship Management Service Inc., directors Tom de Bruin of Grainpro Philippines Inc., Sung Il Cho of Subic Bay Christian Worship Center Inc. and Gerald James Hammond of Subic Drydock Corp.

The chamber issued its endorsement of the hotel-casino project in the wake of a Congressional probe on allegations by architect Felino Palafox Jr. that some 300 trees in the project site would be destroyed if the plan pushed through.

After independently gathering documents and other information on the controversy, the business group said “there could be a reasonable balance between the conservation of nature and commercial and infrastructure development.”

--By Cecille Garcia - Manila Standard Today

link to the full position paper from the Chamber website

http://www.subicchamber.org/downloads/Issue_on_Cutting_of_Trees.pdf

Subic business chamber backs hotel-casino project

MANILA, March 27 (PNA) -— The Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce (SBFCC), an organization of investor-companies registered in this free port, has endorsed the hotel-casino project being proposed here by Korean firm Grand Utopia Inc.

In a statement, the business group said the development project “will ultimately increase tourism in (Subic’s) central business district, create at least 5,000 jobs, and lend itself further to the viable and continued economic success of the Freeport.”

The declaration was signed by SBFCC president Danny J. Piano, who is also president and CEO of Absolute Service Inc.; vice president Romeo Duran, of the Sapalo Velez Bundang Law Offices; treasurer Dante Pollescas, vice president and general manager of Subic Enerzone Corp.; corporate secretary Rose Baldeo, president and CEO of Global Ship Management Service Inc.; director Tom de Bruin, president and CEO of Grainpro Philippines Inc.; director Sung II Cho, senior pastor of the Subic Bay Christian Worship Center, Inc.; and director Gerald James Hammond, general manager of Subic Drydock Corp.

The SBFCC issued its endorsement of the hotel-casino project in the wake of a congressional probe on allegations by noted Filipino architect Felino Palafox Jr. that some 300 trees in the project site would be destroyed if the plan pushed through.

But after independently gathering documents and other information on the controversy, the SBFCC said it has arrived at the conclusion that “there could be a reasonable balance between the conservation of nature and commercial and infrastructure development.”

The Subic hotel-casino issue “will understandably be perceived as a clash between nature and development,” the group said in its manifesto.

However, “if all encroachments against nature are to be disallowed, we will not be able to build anything anywhere anymore,” the SBFCC pointed out.

The group also pointed out that developments that make life convenient for people may be allowed although they could have some adverse effects to the environment.

These include projects like the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, where natural hills were cut and lands were paved, and the reclamation of 20,000 hectares of land around Manila Bay that destroyed corals and mangroves, but now houses the Philippine Senate building, among others.

“These are but examples of how commercial and infrastructure development may invade nature in pursuit of development, but which are nonetheless acceptable due to the benefits they bring and the control and minimization of any adverse environmental impact,” the SBFCC also said.

In the case of the proposed Ocean 9 hotel-casino project here, the SBFCC said that Parcel No. 35, the project site which supposedly contains an “urban forest”, is found outside Subic’s protected forest, and is in fact in a commercial district according to zoning guidelines.

“It has likewise been determined that Parcel No. 35 could not have been a virgin forest since the trees were introduced during development, nor could the trees in it have been more than 50 years old,” the SBFCC statement said.

The business group also noted that the allegation that some 300 so-called “heritage trees” will be destroyed in an urban forest “has spiraled into a huge controversy that threatens to erode the good image of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.”

As the members of the SBFCC live and work in and around the Subic Bay Freeport, they are “affected by the controversy,” the chamber said.

“Accordingly, SBFCC firmly believes that it is in the best interest of all concerned that the facts behind these reports be fully disclosed and well understood,” the Subic business group also said. (PNA)

SBMA keeping $7.5-B investment target despite economic downturn

SUBIC BAY FREE PORT—Most agencies may be scaling down their business projections in the face of the global economic downdurn, but the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) is still eyeing a $7.5-billion investment target in 2010 — a figure thrice the cumulative investments recorded over the first 13 years of the Subic Bay Free Port.

“The enhanced 2010 target still stands,” SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza said in his recent State of the Freeport Address (Sofa) to the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce (SBFCC), an annual event wherein the SBMA defines its programs and thrusts for the year.

“If you ask whether we can still achieve the ambitious goals that we have set for ourselves, with apologies to Barack Obama, I now say: Yes, we can!” Arreza said.

Arreza set the grand vision in his first Sofa in 2006, back when South Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy committed its initial $1-billion commitment for a shipyard here, the same year when SBMA was named the country’s biggest investment-promotion agency.

The next year several big-ticket projects, including Hanjin’s expansion worth close to $700 million, beefed up Subic’s investments harvest in 2007 to $1.71 billion.

As the global economic slowdown rolled on last year, however, the SBMA suffered a significant setback when investments plunged to a mere $249 million, or 85 percent less than the 2007 record.

Still, Arreza said the situation is not as worse as it may seem.

Noting that Subic’s cumulative investments of $5.8 billion as of 2008 have already exceeded the original 2010 target of $5 billion by 116 percent, Arreza expressed optimism that the remaining $1.7 billion could be generated in the next two years to round off SBMA’s enhanced 2010 target of $7.5 billion.

He pointed out, however, that in order to pursue this goal the SBMA and Subic locators “should change the name of the game” in four areas: logistics, manufacturing, tourism and services, specifically in business-process outsourcing (BPO) and knowledge-based industries.

From what is essentially a “bonded warehouse operation” with limited connectivity and ship calls far in between, Subic should be developed as a viable regional transshipment center, with daily ship calls to major regional logistics hubs, Arreza said.

This, he pointed out, could be achieved by attracting heavy port users in Central Luzon, implemen-ting automated import-export document procedures, attracting an air- cargo carrier to replace FedEx, and earmarking P311 million this year for additional investments in warehouses and logistics facilities.

In manufacturing, Arreza emphasized the need to establish stronger industry clusters to capture greater value, greater investments in R&D, and the development of additional industrial estates along the Subic-Clark corridor. He added Subic must also capitalize on Hanjin’s presence to build a strong maritime industry.

Tourism, meanwhile, could be further enhanced by tapping flights to Clark to build a foreign market, developing new cost-competitive tour packages and introducing a hop-on, hop-off transportation system in the Subic Free Port.

Arreza also noted that Subic still “has no significant presence in the burgeoning Philippine BPO market.”

To bring Subic at the forefront of knowledge-based industries, he said that the SBMA would provide additional incentives to pioneering companies, work with local schools to enhance curriculum, develop an IT park within the free port, and develop facilities for WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) high-speed wireless data technology to serve as a platform for new businesses and services within the zone.

Arreza also bared plans for the SBMA’s outward push to Olongapo City, Zambales and Bataan as areas for development increasingly become limited within the fenced-in area of the free port.

Arreza said Olongapo would be ideal for commercial establishments, housing areas and resorts, while Zambales could accommodate expansions in shipbuilding, utilities, as well as housing and resort industries.

Neighboring areas in Bataan, meanwhile, could be used for industrial estates, resort development, reforestation activities and preservation of indigenous people’s domains.

In the same presentation to Subic business locators, Arreza said the SBMA is also aiming to see direct employment climb to 150,000 in 2010, from the 2008 year-end record of 87,502.

On the other hand, the agency targets an annual export figure of $2 billion by 2010, from Subic’s $719 million record posted last year. Written by Henry Empeño / Business Mirror

SCTEX extend development in Freeport, Zambales

Iba, Zambales - Less than a year into its opening, the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) is fast gaining prominence among tourists and businessmen, and a great number of investors within the Subic Freeport Zone gave nothing but praise to the tollway project.

John Corcoran, president of the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (SBFCCI), said that the SCTEX will provide local and foreign visitors with better and faster access to Subic's recreational facilities as well as commercial and industrial establishments.

"This is going to have such a positive impact all over the Subic Bay Freeport because the new highway has significantly cut travel time to Subic from Clark and from as far as Tarlac," said Corcoran.

"I am sure that we will see more development along the Subic-Clark growth corridor," added Corcoran, who is also president of Ocean Adventure, a popular marine theme park here.

Another Subic investor, Yvett Ocampo-Desiongco, CEO of the newly-opened Subic park Jungle Joe's World, also expressed confidence that the SCTEX would bring in more business here.

"Subic can now count on more visitors not only from Metro Manila and South Luzon areas, but also those from North Luzon."

"And the highway is awesome and world-class," she added, saying the SCTEX reminds her of the highway going from San Francisco to Idaho in the United States.

The SCTEX, which covers a total distance of 93.77 kilometers and touted to be the longest four-lane expressway in the Philippines today, is also expected to open up more investment opportunities along the Subic-Clark growth corridor.

SCTEX: Luzon Urban Beltway's priority component

A flagship project of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the SCTEX was funded with a loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and is composed of two packages: the 50.5-km Subic-Clark connection, and the 43.27-km span that connects Clark to Tarlac.

The tollway project is the backbone of the Subic-Clark Mega Logistics Hub and a part of the priority infrastructure projects designed for the Luzon Urban Beltway (LUB). 

LUB is one of the regions included in the super regions concept eyed to usher development towards the countryside.

"Our resolve to provide the necessary infrastructure for growth and prosperity has heightened investors' confidence in our ability to slug it out in the global arena…we have billion dollar investments coming in because they have seen us putting money, our own money, our own investment in infrastructure. "

These words, delivered by PGMA during the Luzon Urban Beltway (LUB) Infrastructure Conference at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in Zambales almost two years ago, sum up the government's determination to usher development all over the country through the super region concept.

Up With People Concert

Up With People Concert - December 13th, SBECC, 7 pm

Time is running out so get your tickets to enjoy the benefits of a professional quality show. The very special charity concert is scheduled for this weekend - on Saturday, December 13 at 7:00 PM at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center in the Subic Gateway Park , Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

To benefit those less fortunate, our greater community has joined hands to take action. We will be hosting the internationally recognized group "UP WITH PEOPLE," who will perform a Broadway-quality musical and dance show. Up With People has been featured in performances around the world. There are 110 young people from countries who will present a truly spectacular show. They are donating their talent for this performance so that all monies raised, will go directly to those that will benefit the most. In addition to their show, the cast of over 100 young people will volunteer over 3100 hours of community service during their visit here.

I am appealing to you to open your hearts and your wallets to buy tickets to what will be a very entertaining and enjoyable evening presented by these talented entertainers. Patron tickets are 500 pesos each and general admission will be P200. I would ask that you not only buy tickets for your family, but I would respectfully suggest that you help us with this worthwhile cause by purchasing tickets for your extended families and work staff.

Not only will you enjoy an outstanding show, but you will know that you have helped to make the holidays a little brighter for others.

Thanks for you support. May God richly bless you and those that you are helping.


JOHN E. CORCORAN, President

SBFCC
Building 398A Schley Road Ext.
SRF Compound
Subic Bay Freeport Zone 2222
Tel: +63 47 252 3180
FAX: +63 47 252 3190
Email: sbfccadm@subictel.com
Website: www.subicchamber.org

Mayor confident of EO 500B's passage

CLARK FREEPORT -- Mabalacat Mayor Marino Morales has expressed confidence that Executive Order (EO) 500-B would be passed, citing "the solidarity demonstrated by Clark investors and locators which was instrumental in the signing of the Freeport Law."

During a recent general assembly of the Clark Investors and Locators Association (Cila), Morales said the signing of Republic Act (RA) 9400 or the Freeport Law "was greatly influenced by the united efforts" shown by investors inside the Freeport.

The signing of Freeport Law, he added, "is a precedent" that could convince President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to order for the immediate passage of EO 500-B.

"Your display of unity and solidarity has played a vital role in the signing of RA 9400 which is why I am confident that the President will call for the speedy issuance of Executive Order 500-B before she steps down (from office) in 2010," Morales said.

EO 500-B allows more international flights at the 2,200-hectare Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA).

Last February this year, the President approved in principle the proposed EO 500-B that will amend the existing EO 500-A issued in August 2006. EO 500-A amended the original EO 500 released in January 2006.

Cila president Jeannie Del Rosario-Ng earlier wrote President Arroyo reiterating their appeal for the immediate passage of EO 500-B that would open more flights at DMIA.

"There is a pressing need for the passage of EO 500-B which will attract more flights at DMIA," del Rosario-Ng said in her letter to the President.

Morales also cited the recent agreement signed by Cila and the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce (SBFCC) as they vowed to join forces in the development of Subic, Clark, and the Central Luzon Growth Corridor.

"The alliance forged between these two business groups (Cila and SBFCC) assures the President in her vision to make Clark and Subic the most competitive services and logistics hub in the Asia-Pacific region," the mayor said.

He also announced that a Central Business District would soon rise in a 3,000-hectare area in Mabalacat. He that he will ask the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) to accommodate the Mabalacat's central business district in order to allow Clark investors to use the area for their expansion projects.

He urged Cila members and other Clark investors "to consider" his offer as he noted "saturation of leasable areas in the 4,200-hectare main zone of the Clark Freeport."

Morales also said Mabalacat is highly dependent on the growth of Clark's economy citing the two percent income the municipality gets from the Freeport's Gross Income Earned (GIE).

He said Mabalacat is receiving P387 million from the two percent local government unit (LGU) share it gets from Clark. He noted that its LGU share would increase to about P700 million when Mabalacat becomes a component city, he said. (RGN - SunStar)