Asian ports must find new ways to gain growth–SBMA chair

SUBIC BAY FREE PORT—Asian ports reeling from slow cargo trade should look for new opportunities behind the economic crisis if they are to survive and do business for another day.

With this bit of advice, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman Feliciano Salonga challenged members of the International Network of Affiliated Ports (Inap) to create alternatives to further develop their business and act on new prospects.

“The [maritime] industry operates in a global environment and grows or shrinks proportionately with trade activities all over the world,” said Salonga, a graduate of the US Merchant Marine Academy and former president of the Philippine Shipyard and Engineering Corp.

“But the proverbial silver lining behind today’s economic slump is the fact that while every crisis is different, all crises have one thing in common—they all create opportunities, especially for those who can identify them and are ready to act,” he added.

He also noted that despite the largely stagnant cargo trade, “ports remain critical to the financial health of most economies around the world.”

Salonga opened the Inap 11th general assembly in Mokpo, South Korea, last week as the outgoing chairman, and later turned over the leadership of the organization to Choi Byeong-Soo, the chief executive officer of Mokpo Newport Co. Ltd.

After stressing the importance of Inap’s strategic alliance and that the group’s policies and actions “impact on the entire maritime port industry of the Asia-Pacific region,” Salonga urged members of the port network “to reestablish priorities.”

“We in Inap can definitely be part of the solution—if we do what we ought to do and do it well,” Salonga said.

He added that the group should take a fresh look at how to manage the fiscal and operational aspects of ports, where to find new revenue streams and, at the same time, control costs.

Salonga also exhorted Inap members “to discuss how we can attract more ports to join Inap,” which, he said, had been joined by only three new members in the last 11 years.

Salonga said by tackling these twin tasks, Inap could “manage to be heard and heeded as a formidable voice and authority in the industry.”

In urging ports to look for alternative revenue sources, Salonga cited the “unprecedented growth in revenue” at the Subic Bay Free Port despite the current economic slowdown.

He said the Port of Subic, which had lately become a choice anchorage for international seagoing vessels waiting out the recession, “provides a good example of how opportunities could be created out of unfortunate events.”

Salonga said collections from vessel lay-ups in Subic Bay, as well as wharfage fees on imported products, brought Subic seaport’s revenue total in the first seven months this year to P319.73 million. This amount was P3.43 million more than the revenue target set by the SBMA for this year and represented a 15.7-percent growth over 2008 figures.

“Our port collection from these laid-up ships, along with other equally significant factors, has allowed our seaport operations to achieve its revenue targets for 2009, as early as July,” Salonga said in his speech before the Inap assembly.

“So, today’s economic crisis should not be any different—if we attack it with logical examination, passionate zeal and decisiveness,” he also said.

Hosting of the Inap general assembly rotated to the Mokpo Newport this year, after the convention was held in this free port in 2008 under the auspices of the SBMA.

Top SBMA execs post bail on takeover case

A Bataan court issued arrest warrants against four top Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority officials in connection with the agency’s takeover of Subic Bay Golf and Country Club (SBGCC) in 2007.

SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza, Chairman Feliciano Salonga, senior deputy administrator Ramon Agregado, and deputy administrator Raul Marcelo already posted bail.

The arrest warrants, issued on April 4, stemmed from a case of grave coercion and trespassing filed by Susan Ho, president of Universal International Group Development Corp. (UIGDC), a Taiwanese firm that used to run the SBGCC.

“We’re confident the case [against Ho] will prosper as the [regional trial court in Olongapo City] has already affirmed the SBMA’s right to take over,” Arreza told the Inquirer on Sunday.

In June 2007, UIGDC also filed a civil case for indirect contempt of court against the SBMA officials.

The state-owned agency terminated the company’s lease contract due to debts and other unfulfilled obligations.

In the indirect contempt case, SBGCC director Jack Ho said the SBMA ignored the injunction issued by the Olongapo court.

Jack Ho said SBMA officials and personnel used force in removing and barring him and club employees from entering the premises. SBMA officials denied the allegation.

Arreza said the SBMA had taken over the business operations of the golf course due to the “failure of UIGDC to fulfill its developmental obligations under [the] lease and development agreement (LDA) and due to its unpaid rentals and charges.”

By March 31, 2007, the agency said UIGDC’s unpaid accounts totaled $352,269.08 and P16.9 million. By Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon

Top SBMA execs post bail on golf takeover case

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – A BATAAN court issued arrest warrants against four top Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority officials in connection with the agency’s takeover of Subic Bay Golf and Country Club (SBGCC) in 2007.

SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza, Chair Feliciano Salonga, senior deputy administrator Ramon Agregado ad deputy administrator Raul Marcelo already posted bail.

The arrest warrants, issued on April 4, stemmed from a case of grave coercion and trespassing filed by Susan Ho, president of Universal International Group Development Corp. (UIGDC), a Taiwanese fir that used to run the SBGCC.

“We’re confident the case [against Ho] will prosper as the [regional trial court in Olongapo City] has already affirmed the SBMA’s right to take over,” Arreza told the INQUIRER on Sunday.

In June 2007, UIGDC also filed a civil case for indirect contempt of court against the SBMA officials.

The state-owned agency terminated the company’s lease contract due to debts and other unfulfilled obligations.

In the indirect contempt case, SBGCC director Jack Ho said SBMA ignored the injunction issued by the Olongapo Court.

Jack Ho said SBMA officials and personnel used force in removing and barring him and club employees from entering the premises. SBMA officials denied the allegation.

Arreza said the SBMA had taken over the business operations of the golf course due to the “failure of UIGDC to fulfill its developmental obligations under [the] lease and development agreement (LDA) and due to its unpaid rentals and charges.”

By March 31, 2007, the agency said UIGDC’s unpaid accounts totaled $352,269.08 and P16.9 million.

--By: Tonette Orejas – Inquirer

Coast Guard to secure Subic free port

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) has agreed to help secure Subic Freeport Zone, a move that will boost the port’s attractiveness to investors and shipping firms, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said Wednesday in a statement.

Under a recently signed memorandum of agreement between the two parties, the coast guard will aid SBMA in conducting vessel inspections, search and rescue efforts, harbor patrol and oil spill response operations. SBMA had also provided PCG free use of a port building for its station.

Encourage investments

"This will keep Subic Bay safe and encourage more investors to come here," SBMA Chairman Feliciano G. Salonga said in the statement.

Already, big-ticket investments at the free port include those of Korean shipbuilder Hanjin and the Philippine Shipping and Engineering Co., SBMA said.

Coast Guard Subic station chief Lt. Elizier Dalnay was quoted in the statement as saying: "We will deploy some of our vessels in Subic Bay to assist the SBMA in implementing maritime safety and humanitarian operations within and in contiguous areas of Subic free port."

PCG will also be establishing a training school at the free port, SBMA said. - BusinessWorld

Top 10 Subic Freeport workers known

First, the Mt. Pinatubo eruption in 1991, then the subsequent pullout of the US Navy. Then after that came the Asian economic crisis.

What enabled this free port to triumph over these adversities and rise to economic heights cannot be credited primarily to the US$8 billion worth of infrastructure left by the Americans, but rather, to Subic ’s “greatest investment” — its exceptional workforce.

To highlight the crucial role of workers in the transformation of this former US military base into a premier investment and commercial hub, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and the Subic Bay Workforce Development Foundation Inc. (SBWDFI) honored this year’s batch of the “10 Outstanding Freeport Workers” during the 16th anniversary celebration of the free port.

The workers awards, which is now on its seventh year, aims to promote among the entire Subic workforce the culture of excellence displayed by volunteers who are credited for rebuilding Subic from the ashes of Mt. Pinatubo , said SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza.

Arreza, who joined some 8,000 Subic volunteers in 1993, recalled that investors started to do business here primarily because of the volunteers’ exceptional display of nationalism and concern for the community.

“They saw that the facilities left by the Americans were intact, and operations of vital installations like the airport and power supply facilities were not halted because people lent their time and skills for free,” said Arreza.

He added that the recipients of the award “are of the same caliber as those of the SBMA pioneers.”

SBMA labor manager Severo Pastor, who is also chairman of the SBWDFI, said that this year, SBMA employees qualified for the awards for the first time, along with nominees from locator companies in Subic .

The awards body also acknowledged for the first time companies that made significant impact on the free port’s development through the “Administrator’s Corporate Award”.

The awardees in this category, Federal Express (FedEx) and the Subic Power Corporation, received the award for exemplifying good human resource practices by consistently keeping the balance between business interests and employees’ welfare, providing equitable work environments, as well as opportunities for professional growth, Arreza said.

Of the 51 nominees in the outstanding workers category, only 20 finalists were chosen, said Pastor. The finalists then underwent a tougher second screening by the board of judges composed of Aurelio Pineda, executive vice-president of the Olongapo Business Club; Capt. Areston Limos, of the Philippine National Police School of Values and Leadership; and former Philippine ambassador to Saudi Arabia Jonathan dela Cruz, who served as chairman.

Pastor identified the 10 outstanding workers of the Subic Bay Freeport as: Ma. Adoracion Celeste, a technical assistant at the SBMA Human Resource Department; Levi Dalida, special investigator at the SBMA Intelligence and Investigation Office; Arleen Dulay, housekeeping attendant at the Lighthouse Marina Resort; Diosdado Ednave, security officer at the SBMA Law Enforcement Department; Severino Jovero, marine mammal training supervisor at the Subic Bay Marine Exploratorium’s Ocean Adventure; Elizier Martin, foreman at the SBMA Maintenance and Transportation Department; Vicente Salvador, welder/pipe fitter at the Philippine Coastal Storage and Pipeline Corp.; Bernard Sanchez, production department head at Nicera Philippines Inc.; Paquito Torres, division chief at the SBMA Intelligence and Investigation Office; and Jaime Villafuerte, Jr., failure analysis engineering supervisor at Wistron Infocomm. (Phils.).

SBMA Chairman Feliciano Salonga, meanwhile, praised Subic ’s top workers, adding that Filipino workers “always belong to the cream of the crop.”

“Anywhere in the world, Filipino workers stand out,” said Salonga, citing Filipino engineers in Dubai who were commended for building excellent roads, and in Pearl Harbor, where the top three workers at one time were Filipina welders. (SBMA Corporate Communications)

--Philippine Daily Inquirer

SBMA “TALKS”:

Journal.com.ph - The charges and counter-charges flowing out of that front page article on noted planner/architect Felino “Jun” Palafox’s warning that the SBMA under Administrator/CEO Armand Arreza is about to commit an environmental violation with the possible cutting of 366 “century old” trees to give way to the construction of a hotel-cum-casino complex have been so thick and fast a lot of other issues and persons have been unearthed along the way. Charges of graft and corruption, unfair and inefficient practices and old-style politics are now out into the open.

SALONGA’S RESPONSE: While Palafox’s complaint may have saved the trees as Arreza assured one and all that such is their injunction to the project proponents, his charge that an SBMA “executive” has asked for an 18-percent commission in exchange for favors on another project has drawn an immediate response from SBMA board chairman Fil Salonga.. Saying that this is the second time he has heard such complaint, he vowed to get into the bottom of this case. We certainly hope so.

He can begin by coming out with his own version on the project he said was also tainted with graft. What project was this? When did this happen? How much was involved? Who were involved, etc. etc. Did the project push through? If it did how is it now?

Then, he can ask Arreza why it took him almost a year to respond to Palafox’s complaint about the “commission-for-favor-seeking” on the “master planning project” he is talking about when the latter confronted him on this in 2007 yet. He can get the statement of Palafox’s partner, Chona Ponce, who was supposed to have supplied the information on that case. Palafox also named a certain Ed Santos who also worked on that project but who is reportedly now in Sweden after fleeing for his life.

As board chairman, Salonga owes it to himself and his board, not to say the entire SBMA community, to make a “clean breast” of things and, as he vowed, get to the bottom of the complaints being ranged against the ways of doing business at the Freeport. What we don’t want to happen is for innuendoes and suspicions to linger on, raking the innocents along the way and dragging the good name of the SBMA with it. We cannot afford to have the projects and the thousands of direct stakeholders at the zone, not to mention the entire country suffering from this pestering impression that graft and corruption moves with ease in that area. SAYANG!!!

SBMA chief to probe extortion claims

The chairman of the state-owned Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority has started his own investigation into the alleged extortion attempt by an SBMA bidding official, saying this was the second irregularity he learned about this year.

"I'm handling the investigation myself," SBMA Chairman Feliciano Salonga told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net, by telephone.

He was referring to the allegation by architect and urban planner Felino Palafox Jr. that a member of the SBMA bids and awards committee (BAC) had demanded an 18 percent commission from his company so it could be included in the shortlist of bidders for a project updating the Subic Bay Freeport's master development plan late last year.

Palafox disclosed the incident to the Inquirer on Sunday as he expressed fears that the malpractice might impact on the campaign to save 366 trees on an almost two-hectare lot where the Grand Utopia Inc., a Korean company, plans to build a casino and hotel resort.

"This is the second time I have heard of such incident. Until Jun [Palafox] revealed it to you, I would not have known about it," Salonga said.

He said a representative of Win's Way, a Chinese company that plans to put up a $2 billion facility for processing and handling of imported oil, reported to him that the firm was asked by an SBMA official to shell out P8 million to fast track the approval of the project.

Salonga said the company has not paid up. Its project is awaiting approval from the SBMA board.

He begged off from giving details on his investigation into the extortion attempt on Win's Way. He said though that in the incidents on Palafox and Win's Way, a common denominator was an SBMA official.

"I'm the chair. I've to exercise my authority here and put some people in their right places," he said.

Edgardo Pamintuan, chairman of the Subic-Clark Alliance for Development Council and one of the two top officials to whom Palafox confided the incident, said SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza had sacked the head of the BAC after learning of the incident.

The other official was Presidential Management Staff chief Cerge Remonde. Palafox also raised the matter to Arreza.

In recent interviews, Arreza said no formal investigation was conducted because Palafox had not heeded his advice to file a formal complaint on the matter.

Arreza instead urged Palafox to identify the erring official so that the SBMA could take appropriate actions.

Palafox did not identify the BAC official, saying the information remained with his senior associate, architect Chona Ponce. She could not be reached for an interview on Monday.

By Ponce's account, as shared by Palafox, the BAC official first relayed the message to Palafox's engineering consultant who, in turn, referred the matter to Ponce. By Tonette Orejas - Inquirer Central Luzon Desk

Subic brass turn taekwondo fans, eye annual tilt

SUBIC BAY FREE PORT—Taekwondo jins now have another venue to strut their stuff—the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman’s Cup Invitational Championship, which will now be held annually at the free port.

The first Subic taekwondo invitational was held Saturday and organizers were encouraged by the good turnout that they decided to put up a tournament every year, said SBMA Chairman Feliciano Salonga.

Salonga said the annual event would provide another dimension to the existing regimen of races and sports events held regularly in Subic.

A total of 170 participants from Metro Manila and Central Luzon joined the one-day tournament at the SBMA Gym, according to organizers Mondriaan Aura College and Hallelujah Taekwondo Ministry (HTM) of Korea. The event was sanctioned by the Philippine Taekwondo Association (PTA).

HTM spokesman Rev. Cho Sung, who is the pastor of a Korean full-gospel church in this free port, said that given the short notice for the event, the number of attendees indicated that taekwondo “has a strong following here.”

Because of this, Cho said that his group is also planning to conduct taekwondo clinics in Subic and in Olongapo City.

“We will invite Korean taekwondo masters regularly,” Cho announced. “Because this is our country’s national sports, nobody knows taekwondo better than us.”

Cho also said the HTM, which was organized in Korea in 1988, has been conducting similar tournaments in Manila for the past seven years.

Editha Geniza, president of the sponsoring Auro College, said the annual tournament would boost the skills of local enthusiasts who have been competing in various tournaments nationwide.

“We’ve been producing top-notch taekwondo athletes, but it was clear that they, and other taekwondo jinns in (the Central Luzon) region, needed more avenues to showcase their talents,” she said.

The annual SBMA Chairman’s Cup is then expected to fill this particular need for training, Geniza said. Written by Henry Empeño - Business Mirror

SBMA's Salonga new head of Asian ports network

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Feliciano Salonga was formally named the 10th chairman of the International Network of Affiliated Ports (INAP) on Tuesday. Salonga, credited for the successful re-focusing of Subic's development thrust into the maritime industry, was unanimously voted into the post by members of the INAP network, reports the Thai News Service.

Salonga (pictured-center), who holds the rank of a commodore in the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary, replaces outgoing chairman Gov. Masanao Ozaki of the Kochi Prefecture.

In accepting the chairmanship, Salonga said he is willing to steer INAP "towards not only survival, but also expansion during these challenging times." He said the INAP should expand further by forging deeper relationships between member ports and intensifying the recruitment of new members into the organisation.

The group, which was formed in 1998, has seven members: the ports of Subic and Cebu in the Philippines, Kochi port in Japan, Mokpo Newport in South Korea, Tanjung Perak in Indonesia, Colombo in Sri Lanka, and Qingdao in China. SeaTradeAsia-Online

SBMA chief gets USMMA award

SUBIC BAY FREE PORT—For ushering in the establishment of maritime-related industries in this free port, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Feliciano Salonga has received a second award from his alma mater, the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), in Kings Point, New York.

The award, which recognizes outstanding personal achievements by academy graduates, was bestowed for “exemplifying the finest tradition of the merchant marine corps ‘Acta Non Verba’—or ’deeds, not words,’” according to the USMMA Alumni Foundation.

Salonga entered the USMMA in 1949 as a scholar under the US government’s Philippine Rehabilitation Act of 1946, and graduated in 1953. He is, so far, the first Filipino in the USMMA Class of ’53 to receive the Outstanding Professional Achievement Award twice.

In a statement, Salonga said he considers the recognition from USMMA “as an affirmation of what I have kept close to my heart — the academy’s tradition of ‘Acta Non Verba’.”

“This is what drives me to perform well, to pitch in my modest share in building a better future for the young generation of Filipinos,” said the SBMA official, who is also a commodore in the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Salonga, who was appointed by President Arroyo as SBMA chairman in 2005, is largely credited for the paradigm shift in the Subic Bay Free Port that ushered in several big-ticket maritime-related investments.

These include the $1.6-billion shipyard project of Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co., and the ship-repair venture by Subic Dockyard Corp., which operates two dry docks formerly owned by the US Navy. Written by Henry Empeño - Business Mirror

Subic Foundation gives P.5-M to scholarship program

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT -- -- The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) last year set up a scholarship foundation providing educational opportunities to poor but deserving and bright students in local communities here.

Recently, SBMA Chairman Feliciano Salonga turned over P556,250 from the SBMA Scholarship Foundation to help fund the program of Castillejos, Zambales, one of the municipalities near the Subic Bay Freeport.

Castillejos became the second local government unit in the province to benefit from the fund after the town council requested assistance for its scholarship program.

Wilma Billman, mayor of Castillejos, who received the check from Salonga, said the assistance was very timely because parents now find it hard to enroll their children due to recent increases in tuition fees and prices of school supplies.

We will be using this assistance to upgrade and expand our scholarship program, which we have initiated a couple of years ago, so that we can send more children to school, a thankful Billman told Salonga.

On behalf of the people of Castillejos, I thank the SBMA Scholarship Foundation and hope that this is just the beginning of their assistance to us, Billman said.

Salonga pointed out that the foundation is actually funded by voluntary donations from business locators and private individuals in the Subic Bay Freeport.

The foundation was established last year precisely to provide support to scholarship programs in communities adjoining Subic Freeport.

We set up this foundation because the SBMA believes that education is the real hope for the country, Salonga also told Billman.

The SBMA official likewise said that the foundation would be providing more assistance to communities as Subic projects increasing economic growth in the coming years.

As investments and trade grow in Subic, there will be more resources that we could dedicate to education, he said.

Aside from Castillejos, the SBMA Scholarship Foundation has already provided assistance to the local government of San Felipe, Zambales, Salonga said.

The foundation has also identified students from Subic town and the indigenous communities in the Freeport zone, who could benefit from similar scholarship programs.

Salonga stressed that the SBMA continues to share with neighboring communities part of the revenue generated from taxes paid by investors inside the Freeport.

This is part of our commitment to local communities, and part of the SBMA mandate to help develop the Subic Bay area and promote the well-being of local residents, Salonga added. Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX

SBMA head hits Senate inquiry into Hanjin condo

Senators Cayetano and Zubiri said they appreciate the entry of investors and do not intend to scare them away

SUBIC FREEPORT: Chairman Feliciano Salonga of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) criticized the Senate Friday for making a “big fuss” over the housing project of Hanjin, a Koren shipping company.

“The senators are barking up the wrong tree. There is no environmental violation committed in the housing project. I am surprised that much attention is being given to this when our main problem lies in the parasitic vines,” Salonga said before the start of a joint Senate committee hearing on the housing project.

He said that the proper focus should be on the productive presence of Hanjin, which he said would employ about 13,000 laborers in what he called “the biggest shipyard” in Southeast Asia.

“Hanjin had built a ship in less than a year, which is an extraordinary accomplishment. Booked contract amounts to $3.5 billion, which will be completed in two to three years,” he added.

The Senate committees on environment and natural resources headed by Senator Pia Cayetano, housing and urban planning headed by Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, and government corporations and public enterprises headed by Senator Richard Gordon, are jointly investigating reports that Hanjin built its 184-unit condominium buildings for its officials and employees on a three-hectare lot within a protected watershed area.

Cayetano and Zubiri said that they appreciate the entry of investors and they do not intend to scare them away but they added that they wanted to make sure that all laws on environment and zoning are followed by the investors.

“We’re here to strengthen existing laws,” said Cayetano.

Zubiri added that there was no chance of having the buildings demolished since they are already built. “We just hope that next time they take into serious consideration the consequences involved in building these structures in a forested area,” Zubiri said.

While Gordon noted that he was convinced that SBMA did not violate any law in approving the Hanjin housing project but he questioned the aesthetics of building a 28-story condominium building in the area.

SBMA Administrator Armand Areza said that the housing site was two kilometers away from the core ecological zone of the watershed area where no development is allowed. He also said that a team of land use experts hired by the World Bank to prepare a zoning plan for SBMA, had recommended in 2002 that the area, of which the housing site is a part, be declared as a recreational area.

Areza also said that only 43 trees were cut in the Hanjin housing site and that the US Navy had previously cut many trees there when it built its ammunition storage facility.

Cayetano said that it was the SBMA, not the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, that issued the environmental clearance certificate to the housing project.

“I am not aware of any law allowing the delegation of this power,” she said, as she questioned the legality of the memorandum of agreement between SBMA and the DENR.

Shortly before the hearing started at the Subic Gateway Park, a group of protesters suddenly popped out and demanded an investigation of the demolition of their houses in Subic to give way to the Hanjin shipyard. They also claimed that they were given a relocation site high on a mountaintop, almost three kilometers away from the sea, even if most of them are fishermen.

Zubiri said the joint committees would make an ocular inspection of the relocation site in the next hearing. Gordon said the problem occurred because Hanjin gave the money for the relocation to the local government of Subic but this apparently did not reach the supposed beneficiaries.

“I saw the relocation site and I was scandalized. There was no water so of course, the people refused to move there. I will not allow anybody to get away with this,” he said on the alleged anomaly in the relocation of 450 families from the Hanjin shipyard site.
-- By Efren L. Danao, Manila Times Senior Reporter -- With Anthony Bayarong

SBMA chair cites GMA's vision

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Feliciano Salonga has cited the vision of President Arroyo in pushing for the construction of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and its three interchanges.

In an interview by CLTV-36 host John Susi over the program "Hamon sa Central Luzon," Salonga said the decision of the President will spur growth and development along the 93.77-kilometer modern expressway.

Susi's interview coincided with SBMA's hosting of the 20th Philippine Advertising Congress last week that Salonga dubbed as a part of the Freeport's tourism thrust.

"I admire the vision of the President in this regard and it could have come only from one who really has brains," Salonga said.

The SBMA chair noted a similar project in Thailand, which eventually transformed the area into what is now known as Detroit of Asia, comparing it to Detroit in then US which is where the American automotive manufacturing industry is located.

"It would have been more popular to criticize the President than to praise her but I think she deserves the latter for this project, "Salonga said.

Salonga, father of world-famed singer and actress Lea Salonga, said the construction of three interchanges in the SCTEX will attract developers, investors and industries that will boost growth in the Subic and Clark Freeport Zones as well as in other areas in surrounding regions.

"It also stopped the fighting among various proponents of the interchange," Salonga said in a bit of humor.

Salonga was apparently referring to three groups in Pampanga lobbying with the President for three different interchanges in Porac and Angeles. The groups were led by Pampanga Governor Eddie Panlilio, Secretary Edgardo Pamintuan of the Subic Clark Alliance for Development Council, Senator Lito Lapid and Representative Carmelo "Tarzan" Lazatin of the first district.

The President, however, approved three interchanges - one in Floridablanca, one in Porac and one in Clark.

Salonga expressed the need to upgrade the skills of Filipino workers for locally manufactured products to be globally competitive.

"Our products cannot compete globally if our local skills remain below world standard," he said.

He cited firms in SBMA that he said have invested heavily in upgrading the skills of Filipino workers in the Freeport zone. He also mentioned Hanjin, a Korean firm, which he said invested more than P100 million for skills development.

"With this kind of investment, it's clear that the firm will stay with us for a long time," he said.

By Reynaldo G. Navales - SunStar

Clear-cut functions needed for Subic execs

There should be a clear-cut policy and division of labor between the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and the Bureau of Customs, particularly in the fight against smuggling.

This was the reaction of SBMA Chairman Feliciano Salonga to a report implicating eight SBMA officials in an alleged conspiracy to smuggle 16 luxury vehicles through the freeport in February.

The report, Salonga said, implicates SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza, Deputy administrator for operations Jose Calimlim, seaport manager Perfecto Pascual, as well as Subic customs collector Marietta Zamoranos and four Customs officials in alleged graft charges to be filed against them.

He said SBMA officials should not be faulted in the smuggling case because the agency’s job is to promote trade in the freeport zone.

“This is what the freeport is all about—to expedite and facilitate the movement of goods,” Salonga said.

“The function of the Bureau of Customs, on the other hand, is to make sure that appropriate taxes and duties are collected before the goods imported into the freeport reach the Customs territory,” he added.

Salonga said both the SBMA and the BoC have to define the boundary between their respective functions, adding that the blurring of lines between the respective tasks of the two agencies leads to confusion.

“The mere fact that General Calimlim and Administrator Arreza are being charged together is an indication of the confusion that reigns in the mind of those who are involved in the investigation,” Salonga said.

“Obviously, smuggling which is a responsibility of the Bureau of Customs is now being charged against the very same people who are supposed to facilitate the flow of goods, not to slow them down,” he added.

The SBMA official said he will seek the support of President Macapagal-Arroyo to resolve the matter, pointing out that the SBMA administration has been following her marching orders “to make Subic a resounding success.”

He said the recommendation to charge Arreza was unfair and comes “like a big blow to the pit of the stomach.”

By: Jess V. Antiporda - Journal Online

Turf war in Subic

Emil Jurado - Manila Standard Today

We may not realize it but the smuggling of luxury cars and vehicles in the Subic Freeport, Cebu and other ports of entry pales in comparison to the rampant smuggling of diesel oil and other petroleum products. The government is losing billions of pesos in duties and taxes.

As far as the Subic Freeport is concerned, its inability to curb smuggling can be traced directly to the continuing turf war among Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority officers, with the presence of a chairman in the person of Feliciano Salonga (father of the world-renowned Lea Salonga), and Armand Arreza as administrator. There’s also retired Gen. Joey Calimlim, who is tasked as intelligence and enforcement chief, but whose activities are oftentimes cut down by either Salonga and Arreza.

The problem in Subic can be traced directly to the appointment of an administrator and a chairman of the SBMA when its charter talks of just one person as both chairman and administrator. It was so when now Senator Dick Gordon was SBMA chairman/administrator, as it was with Tong Payumo after Gordon. But, somehow, because of political accommodation, Malacañang split the two positions. Salonga was endorsed by a Zambales politician, while Gordon pushed Arreza as administrator.

This is where the problem lies because often, Salonga and Arreza fight over turf so much so that the local and foreign locators at the free port are now confused. Those who are close to Salonga can never get that close to Arreza. That’s what is happening at Subic.

While the turf war rages on, smugglers are having a holiday. And only GMA can solve this problem.

Norwegian company is investing P200 M in shipyard project

By JONAS REYES - Manila Bulletin

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — A Norwegian firm will invest P200 million in the construction of a shipyard here, further boosting the capability of this former naval base for maritime logistics and services.


The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) signed recently an agreement with the Subic Bay Shipyard Consortium (SBSC) for the establishment of a shipbuilding and repair facility at the former US Navy ship repair facility (SRF), which is also being developed by another firm into a terminal for international cruise ships.

SBSC president and chief executive officer Nils-Ottar Lonoy said his firm will be utilizing the so-called "slipway and skid system" which can accommodate vessels of up to 90 meters in length for dry docking and repair.

"We really see the necessity to upgrade the domestic fleet," Lonoy said, noting that the shipyard project was conceptualized in 2005 to take advantage of "excellent pier facilities" at SRF.

Lonoy said the company is now studying the establishment of the shipbuilding facility as its contribution to the envisioned Subic Bay Maritime Industrial Park, a pet project of SBMA Chairman Feliciano Salonga.

The construction of the new shipyard will begin next month, and the facility is expected to be completed in three to five years, Lonoy said.

He also said that his company will be conducting skills training for Filipino ship repair workers needed for its 500-strong manpower requirement.

Lonoy added that his company will hire some of the highly skilled workers who were employed in the ship repair facility of the US Navy in Subic.

During the contract signing, Chairman Salonga said the SBMA sees great prospects in the shipbuilding industry as it has been included in the government’s investment priority program.

Salonga said the .68-billion shipyard project of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Corp. in Subic is another magnet that attracts more players in the international shipping industry to Subic.

The Hanjin project is expected to become the fourth largest shipyard in the world, with projected annual sales and export revenues of .6 billion.

SBMA investment processing head Ronnie Yambao said that Subic offers a competitive advantage to players in the shipping industry because of its integrated logistics facilities for storage, cargo loading and unloading, packaging, processing and information, and transportation.

In addition, the SBMA is offering to locators incentives such as tax- and dutyfree importation, a minimal five percent corporate tax on gross income, unrestricted entry of foreign investments, no foreign exchange control, and four to six years of income tax holiday for investors.

SBMA brimming with locators

IBA, Zambales – A top official of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority confirmed Monday the influx of locators and investors at the Freeport and that prospects for alternative investment areas are fast shaping up in the province.

SBMA chairman Feliciano Salonga, although elated by the sudden turn of events, hinted to authorities here that “mechanics must be laid out before real business activities get through into the area.”

Salonga, who made a brief courtesy call to newly installed Gov. Amor Deloso advised officials to start building needed infrastructures like road networks to and from the identified facility sites.

“Zambales has a lot of built-in assets and laden with wide array of natural-physical wealth in land area, water, mineral resources and even in energy power source as shown by the presence of a mega wattage coal-fired thermal power plant significantly located inside the province’ womb” he stressed.

The province is the second biggest in Region III next only to Nueva Ecija, according to a data gathered from Central Luzon Investment Council.

Deloso offered the Masinloc–Candelaria area as alternative seaport for containerized vessels, predicting that “in the next 10-20 years Subic Freeport area would be overloaded and too small for big ships to maneuver even as their numbers are expected to grow.”

The Subic Bay Containerized Seaport was recently inaugurated by President Macapagal-Arroyo.

“Considering the calculated volume of ship building production at the Hanjin Shipyard and the marked increase in number of ship repairs at nearby Philippine Shipyard Engineering Company which are both Subic based companies, the ideal trust would be to dock at the huge Masinloc Port Terminal that is soon to rise,” he said.

Under the master plan provided under CLIC program, Deloso explained that “the MPT as envisioned, is set as an outlet for goods transported into and from nearby provinces of Tarlac, Nueva Ecija and Nueva Vizcaya or even Pampanga for that matter using the proposed Iba-Tarlac high-end roadway.”

Salonga expressed commitment and support to the proposed 500-hectare industrial area set aside by the provincial government in Sitio Talisayen, Pundaquit, San Antonio, as well as the development of the old but huge US Navy Golf link located in San Miguel, San Antonio.

He also reiterated for the “symbiotic business relationship between the two agencies” by supporting each others’ blueprint of development that will fast track programs and projects and finally industrialization of the whole area.

By: Johnny R. Reblando - Journal.com

House to probe SBMA anomalies

By: Raul S. Beltran - Journal OnLine
THE House committee on good government, whose membership has yet to be finalized, will have a major congressional investigation in its hands.

Crossing party lines, congressmen on Wednesday tasked the committee to conduct an inquiry into the alleged irregularities at the Subic Freeport, where officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) are “making the area a territory of their own.”

In a privilege speech, Rep. Emil Ong (KAMPI, Northern Samar) accused SBMA officials, headed by its chairman, Feliciano Salonga, of defying a court order protecting a group of Taiwanese investors from being driven out of a golf course they developed in the free port.

Ong said the SBMA officials have been ignoring a court injunction enjoining them to allow the Hu family of the Universal Group of Taiwan to continue operating Subic Golf Course at the former American military base.

The neophyte lawmaker said the case stemmed from an earlier SBMA directive asking the Hus and their group to pay some P15 million in alleged rental arrears for occupying the property where the golf course was developed.

But the court, according to Ong, issued a status quo order enjoining SBMA against ejecting the golf course operators, noting that the Hus have existing 50-year lease on the property.

The court also noted that the Taiwanese firm has spent over P1.2 billion in developing the golf course, he said.

“The SBMA officials have wantonly violated the basic human rights of these Taiwanese nationals who have reposed their faith and trust in our own country by investing billions of pesos in Subic. The SBMA officials have taken the law into their own hands,” the solon said.

“Defiance of the court order could send wrong signals to foreign investors to our country. They have sabotaged the effort of our President and other government officials who are going around the world precisely to invite foreign investors to our country,” Ong said in his speech.

While not making any direct mention of why the Taiwanese firm is driven out of the free port, the lawmaker insinuated that a South Korean group is seeking to operate the golf course.

Opposition Rep. Rufus Rodriguez (PMP, Cagayan de Oro) hinted that the SBMA officials may have violated the Code of Ethical Standards for Public Officials for “unilaterally” canceling the Taiwanese firm’s lease contract without due process.

Rep. Mitos Magsaysay (Lakas, Zambales) said the Hu family is responsible for inviting a “lot of Taiwanese investors” to do business at the Subic Free Port.

Rep. Pablo Garcia (KAMPI, Cebu) said a contract of lease can only be terminated when the term of contract has expired and when there is non-payment of the rental or when there is a violation of the contract of lease.