SBMA frontliners get P22.73-M hazard pay for ECQ work

Workers in the frontline and essential services of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) received a total of P22.73 million in hazard pay for physically reporting for work assignments here during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the compensation was released under Administrative Order No. 26 dated March 23, 2020, which granted hazard pay to government employees and contract workers during the public health emergency at the amount of P500 per day per person.

The SBMA board of directors duly approved the release of the hazard pay based on recommendations of the management last August, Eisma added.

“Most of those who received significant amounts are security officers and firefighters, who were on field assignments at a time when most of our departments worked from home,” Eisma pointed out.

“The security officers enforced border controls, while the firefighters disinfected offices, facilities and public places to keep the Subic community safe,” she added.

According to the SBMA Finance Group, a total of 1,739 employees benefited from the release. These included 1,074 employees in plantilla positions, 550 workers engaged through contract of service, 101 personnel under government contracting, and 14 casual hires.

SBMA data indicated that plantilla employees received an average of P13,438 hazard pay, while contract workers got an average of P12,912.

Finance Group head Antonietta Sanqui said that under guidance from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the SBMA computed the hazard pay at P62.50 per hour from the P500 per-day government ceiling and applied this pro-rata to actual number of work hours based on daily time records.

The biggest amount went to two security officers, who each received P61,500. They logged in a total of 984 man-hours each since March 17 when the ECQ came into effect, and until May 31.

On the other hand, the smallest pay amounting to P131.25 went to 16 mostly office workers, who logged in just 2.1 hours at their workplaces during the ECQ.

Prior to the release of hazard pay, the SBMA Accounting Department reviewed the number of hours logged in by each personnel in the ECQ, computed the difference between Covid 19 hazard pay and the magna carta hazard pay received by public health workers, and deducted corresponding withholding taxes.

Under DBM guidelines, government employees such as public health workers and uniformed personnel who are already entitled to hazardous duty pay or hazard allowance may also receive the Covid-19 hazard pay, whichever is higher. (MPD-SBMA)

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Frontline service workers received the biggest hazard pay released by the SBMA for work during the ECQ

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SBMA extends grace period for rents, business fees

Business locators in this Freeport received yet another relief from the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown when the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) extended the suspension of rentals and other payments due since the start of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in March.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the SBMA board of directors passed a resolution on June 30 that gave a 119-day grace period for the collection of all due accounts, thereby moving the payment date for such collectibles to October 28.

The extended suspension period covered the March to September 2020 billings for lease rentals, common use services area fees, port charges, garbage collection fees, sublease shares, and gross revenue shares.

Eisma said the measure took off from Memorandum Circular 20-29 of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which provided for a minimum 30-day grace period for the cumulative amount of residential and commercial rents that fell due during the quarantine.

“But to better assist the businesses here in Subic, the SBMA opted for a longer time when payments could be deferred to give the local businesses enough time to recover,” Eisma explained on Tuesday.

“This is actually the third extension we granted since the ECQ was imposed last March,” Eisma pointed out. “There is really a need to cushion the impact of the lockdown and provide economic relief to Subic stakeholders in support of RA 11469, or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act,” she added.

Under the approved measure, the SBMA management also allowed amortized payments of all the unpaid billings from March to September 2020 in six monthly installments, or from October 2020 to March 2021.

Said billings will not earn any interest or penalty until March next year if the installment is completed, Eisma added.

Those who will benefit from the payment grace period include business locators leasing lands, buildings and other infrastructure from the SBMA, and residents paying lease on a monthly basis.

Eisma added that while sub-lessees are not covered by the suspension because only sub-lessors have contracts with the SBMA, the latter are encouraged to extend the same benefit to their tenants.

The SBMA official also clarified, however, that the regular policy on credit and collection applies to billings issued prior to the March ECQ, although interest and other charges are waived for such billings for the period July 1 to October 27, 2020.

Interests and other penalties will also be applied to installments that were not paid on time, and all unpaid bills by the end of the October 27 grace period will start earning interests, charges, and penalties the following day, Eisma added.

According to SBMA deputy administrator for finance Dea Sanqui, those who want to avail of the six-month installment scheme would have to apply by filling out a pro-forma promissory letter addressed to the SBMA chairman and administrator not later than September 30, 2020.

Companies availing of the installment scheme should attach a Secretary’s Certificate authorizing the signatory of the promissory note. Application forms may be obtained by sending an email to accounting@sbma.com, treasury@sbma.com, or oda.finance@sbma.com or from the account offices assigned to companies registered in the Subic Bay Freeport.

Sanqui said the SBMA Treasury Department will compute and determine the schedule of the six monthly installments and will notify the applicants before payment date. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTO:

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma addresses business concerns during a meeting with representatives of Subic Bay Freeport locators at the start of the ECQ in March. (MPD-SBMA)

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SBMA grants another 30-day extension for business permits

Another 30-day extension has been granted by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) to business locators here whose company registration had expired since the imposition of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in March.

According to SBMA Deputy Administrator for Business Kenneth Lemuel Rementilla, the SBMA will extend the validity of the Certificate of Registration (CR) and Certificate of Registration and Tax Exemption (CRTE) until July 13 to give business locators enough time to renew their permits.

The extension has been approved by SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma upon the recommendation of Senior Deputy Administrator for Business and Investment Renato W. Lee.

Rementilla said the latest extension from the SBMA effectively granted a 120-day validity extension for business registrations since the Subic Bay Freeport operated under quarantine rules starting March 17.

He said that during a referendum on March 20, the SBMA board of directors initially approved to grant a 30-day reprieve to Subic Bay Freeport enterprises whose registration would have expired within the ECQ period, or from March 17 to May 13, as well as to those whose CR or CRTE expired prior to the ECQ but had already applied for renewal before March 17.

This extension also applied to sub-lessees whose sublease would have expired during the said ECQ period, provided that no protest was received from the sub-lessor during the extended period, Rementilla added.

Following the initial extension, Chairman Eisma, who was authorized by the SBMA board to further extend the validity as needed and pursuant to national government directives, first granted an extension until June 13.

“In view of the continuing community quarantine imposed in the Subic Bay Freeport, Chairman Eisma further extended the validity of the CRs and CRTEs of Subic Bay Freeport locators until July 13, 2020,” Rementilla said.

Prior to this, the SBMA also further suspended the collection of penalties and other fees from business locators and residents until the end of June to help ease economic difficulties during the pandemic.

The extension covered penalties on late payment of billings, fees on deferment of deposit for maturing post-dated checks, and due dates covering payment schemes with deed of undertaking, which were all initially suspended from March to May 2020.

The SBMA had similarly granted a validity extension for the IDs and access passes of SBF workers until June 30 and allowed the renewal until July 31 of vehicle decals with one-year validity issued in 2019. (MPD-SBMA)

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LGUs urged to join SBMA-Red Cross mass testing program

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has urged local government units (LGUs) adjacent to the Subic Bay Freeport Zone (SBFZ) to join its mass testing program to detect new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infections in the locality.

In a letter sent to LGU executives on Tuesday, April 28, SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the Subic agency has partnered with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) to provide Covid-19 mass testing services at minimal cost to residents and stakeholders of SBFZ and its surrounding communities.

The letter was sent to the eight LGUs contiguous to the SBFZ: Olongapo City; Subic, Castillejos, San Marcelino and San Antonio in Zambales; and Morong, Hermosa and Dinalupihan in Bataan.

Eisma said the SBMA-PRC mass testing program will be open to the public, although priority will be given to suspected and probable Covid-19 cases, as well as frontliners in the SBFZ, SBMA employees, and SBFZ residents.

“In this regard, SBMA is offering to partner with (LGUs) for the Covid-19 mass testing of (their) constituents at a cost of P3,500 per test, inclusive of test kits,” Eisma said. Similar polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests cost from P8,000 to P9,000 when administered at private hospitals in Manila, it was learned.

Eisma said that for this project, the SBMA has retrofitted two buildings at the Subic Bay Freeport main gate to house at least six telephone booth-type swabbing centers where trained health workers will take swab samples from patients. The collected samples will then be validated and taken to the PRC Molecular Laboratory at Subic’s Naval Magazine Area for testing.

The Red Cross testing facility in the Freeport will be equipped with an automated RNA extraction machine that can run 90 samples per hour, and two PCR machines that can each process 1,000 samples a day for a daily turnout of 2,000 tests.

The mass testing project here is the brainchild of Senator Richard Gordon, who is chairman of Philippine Red Cross. Gordon had designated Subic and the nearby Clark Freeport as PRC Covid-19 testing centers for the Central Luzon region.

Gordon had earlier stressed the exclusive use of the PCR testing method because it is more reliable and accurate than the rapid testing method, which still requires a confirmatory test.

In her letter to LGUs, Eisma said that while the PRC will require an advance of P5 million that would cover an initial 1,420 tests, the LGUs can recoup their expenses, as the same will be covered by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. in line with Philhealth Circular No. 2020-10.

She added that the SBMA is willing to explore a scheme whereby LGUs could advance the cost required by PRC from the 2% LGU shares to be collected by the SBMA from taxes paid by Subic Freeport locators. The SBMA has been releasing LGU shares twice a year since 2011, with an average release of P116.68 million each semester for the eight communities adjacent to the Subic Bay Freeport.

Eisma said the SBMA won’t impose any fee on top of the P3,500 cost that the Red Cross will charge to defray the costs of equipment, manpower and supplies needed for the mass testing program.

She added that at the moment, applications for Covid-19 mass testing will be screened through the Red Cross hotline 1158, although the SBMA may put up a similar hotline to help hasten processing.

Under Republic Act 11469, or the Bayanihan to Heal As One Act, which declared a state of national emergency in face of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Philippine Red Cross was identified as the primary humanitarian agency that is auxiliary to the government in the fight against the virus outbreak.

Eisma said the SBMA-PRC Covid-19 mass testing program will help authorities in the Greater Subic Bay-Bataan-Olongapo-Zambales area “get accurate data on the exact prevalence of Covid-19, and identify with specificity the individuals that we must treat and isolate, and the areas we have to more intensely quarantine.”

“In the same manner, this accurate and exact data will help us decide on whether we can safely ease up restrictions and implement the ‘new normal’ guidelines and protocols in order to get our local economy running again,” Eisma added. (MPD-SBMA)

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Workers prepare the SBMA swabbing centers at the Subic Bay Freeport main gate for the Covid-19 mass testing program in the greater Subic Bay area

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Worker found dead in barracks

A man who worked as maintenance staff at the Subic Bay Freeport Grain Terminal here was found dead beside his bed at the company barracks on Friday.

Jimmy Gonzaga Ocaña Jr., 40 years old, was found lifeless by his co-workers around 5:45 a.m. on May 1, according to initial reports by the Intelligence and Investigation Office (IIO) of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).

The victim was a resident of Marikina City, who worked for the company operating a grain terminal at the Cubi Point here.

Ocaña was staying in the barracks, as he was caught in the lockdown under the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) and could not go back to his hometown, it was learned.

The SBMA has required companies authorized to operate under the ECQ to provide accommodations inside the Freeport for their workers.

The SBMA Public Health and Safety Department (PHSD), meanwhile, ruled out that it was Covid-19 related since he did not show any symptom like fever or cough, and had no history of travel or exposure.

Ocaña had reportedly consulted a doctor about some pain in his leg, and was prescribed some pain killer before being sent home.

Co-workers said he again complained about leg pain while having dinner Thursday night and later asked for help in going up the short flight of stairs to their barracks.

They added that when they woke up the next day, they saw Ocaña lying face down beside his bed. When they tried to wake him up, the victim was no longer responding.

His co-workers then called the attention of company officials who called the SBMA Law Enforcement Department for help.

Personnel from the SBMA PHSD also arrived and checked on the victim, but the attending physician declared that Ocaña was already dead.

The Philippine National Police in Morong, Bataan has said there was no apparent foul play in the death of the victim. (MPD-SBMA)

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The workers’ barracks is cordoned off during an investigation into Ocaña’s death

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Ocean Adventure launches donation drive to keep animals alive

Ocean Adventure, the biggest tourism operator in this Freeport, is launching a donation drive to keep its animals alive and well amid the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) period.

Robert Ianne Gonzaga, president and chief executive officer of Subic Bay Marine Exploratorium Inc. (SBMEI), operator of Ocean Adventure, Adventure Beach Waterpark and Camayan Resort Hotel here, said in a statement Tuesday that the fund drive for the animals is an unprecedented but necessary step for them to do.

Gonzaga said that since the implementation of ECQ last March, their revenues have gone down to zero and will remain so for the short-term while the costs and expenses remain high due to the caring and feeding of animals and maintenance of the facilities.

“We rely only on our revenues to deliver the best of care for our animals and to ensure that they are in a safe and secure environment, with expert support available from our vets and caretakers," he said.

Ocean Adventure, which is responsible for attracting hundreds of thousands of guests and visitors to Subic Freeport every year, has been grappling with the negative impacts of the lockdown.

Last month, it retrenched more than 200 of its employees and placed the remaining 300 on forced leave.

"The disruption this pandemic has caused is unprecedented and likely to last for quite some time into the future, even after the quarantine is lifted. Our attendance numbers started plummeting in late January as concern for Covid-19 began to spread, and it got worse in February, which forced us to retrench workers in March -- days before the entire Luzon was put under lockdown. Now, all our businesses have shut down, aside from the hotel which is operating with a skeletal force. There is a lot of pain being felt across the entire tourism industry,” Gonzaga said.

SBMA chairman and administrator Wilma Eisma had earlier required manufacturing firms which continue to operate according to the guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to house their employees inside the Subic Freeport.

This enabled some hotels here to remain operational with a skeletal crew, catering to guests in essential industries -- the only source of income for the duration of the lockdown.

In a statement posted on its official website, the SBMEI said the donations that the fund drive will generate will be used to purchase animal food, medicine, and vitamins, help support the animal caretakers, divers and volunteers who maintain their enclosures, veterinarians and lab technicians who provide for the health care of the animals, and pay for utilities for pumps, freezers and other equipment for the care of the animals.

"We currently have enough food for our animals to last to the beginning of June, however, since we do not expect to generate any revenue anytime soon, we are trying to raise funds to feed and support our animals for the rest of the year 2020,” Gonzaga said.

“The path to recovery is going to be long and hard, not just for our company but for everyone else in the tourism industry. That said, our animals at Ocean Adventure cannot make it through without external support in the months ahead. But we believe that with your help, nothing is impossible,” he added. (Mahatma Datu,PNA)

PHOTO:

Dolphins and their trainer at the Ocean Adventure in Subic Bay Freeport.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1101329

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Covid-19 mass testing in Subic Freeport begins early May

A mass testing program to detect new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infections in the greater Subic Bay Freeport area is expected to begin here early next month under a partnership between the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the PRC is putting up a laboratory at the Naval Magazine area in this Freeport and expects to receive testing equipment by April 29 and accreditation by the Department of Health (DOH) thereafter.

“Under this schedule we expect to begin mass testing here in the first week of May at the earliest,” Eisma said.

On Sunday, Eisma and PRC Secretary General Elizabeth Zavalla inspected the PRC Molecular Laboratory at the Naval Magazine area here, a project approved by PRC Chairman and Senator Richard Gordon at the behest of the SBMA chief.

According to Zavalla, the equipment for the state of the art laboratory will include an automated RNA extraction machine that can run 90 samples per hour, as well as two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines that can each process 1,000 samples a day for a daily turnout of 2,000 tests.

Zavalla said the Red Cross is only using the PCR testing method because it is more reliable and accurate.

She added that the DOH’s Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM, the government’s lead agency in the prevention and control of infectious diseases, would have to inspect the facility prior to operation.

Eisma said the mass testing program will be open to the public, but suspected and probable cases (previously known respectively as persons under monitoring, or PUMs, and persons under investigation, or PUIs) will be the priority.

“Frontline workers in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, SBMA employees, as well as Freeport residents will also be prioritized, but we will also reach out to local government units (LGUs) in the neighboring communities of Olongapo City, Zambales and Bataan so that their constituents can benefit from the program,” she added.

Eisma also pointed out that the SBMA is working out a scheme with the PRC so that the public can also use the Red Cross hotline 1158 in making appointments for testing.

To facilitate the mass testing program, the SBMA will put up swabbing centers at Freeport main gate area for the collection of samples for testing.

“Once the samples are collected, these will be validated and sent to the Red Cross laboratory for testing, and the results could be obtained in about two days,” Eisma said.

The SBMA pushed for the mass testing program the other week as the call for mass testing resounded widely.
Eisma said earlier that mass testing would provide “a good reading of the prevalence of the outbreak with the end-view of safely lifting the ECQ in order to get the Subic businesses running again.”

“If we don’t undertake mass-testing, we’d be fighting Covid-19 blindly. We have to get a better grasp of the situation so that we can act accordingly,” Eisma added.

The SBMA has been initiating solutions to protect the local community from the virus threat. Aside from the mass testing program, the Subic agency also established two care and isolation facilities at the Subic Gym and the former Leciel Hotel for use in case of a surge in Covid-19 cases. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

[1] The Philippine Red Cross Molecular Laboratory will house the equipment for Covid-19 mass testing in the Subic Bay Freeport.

[2] SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma and PRC Secretary-General Elizabeth Zavalla inspect the Philippine Red Cross Molecular Laboratory in the Subic Bay Freeport on Sunday.

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Subic firm ramps up production of ventilator parts

A Japanese company in this premier free port zone is trying to cope with great demand for cooling fans used in mechanical ventilators, which are critical medical equipment used in caring for patients infected by the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

Sanyo Denki Philippines, Inc. (SDPI), a locator at the Subic Techno Park (STEP) here, also used to manufacture uninterruptible power supply (UPS) units, servo amplifiers and stepping motors, but has now devoted its operations to producing cooling fans, said company president Koichi Uchibori.

Uchibori and SDPI design manager Ted Yamazaki, who met with Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma on Monday when the SBMA official visited the company’s factory, said there is growing demand for cooling fans these days because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Yamazaki said that the company’s cooling fans are used by companies like Siemens, Inogen and Hitachi for various medical equipment, including mechanical ventilators that move breathable air into and out of the lungs of patients who are physically unable to breathe.

But due to the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) rules that required export-oriented businesses to house their staff within the Freeport zone, Uchibori said that company operations have been drastically reduced to 10 percent of the previous capacity.

“The number of cooling fans we produced monthly used to reach 80,000, but we can only produce from 6,000 to 10,000 units now,” Uchibori lamented.

As of last February when the ECQ was not yet in place, Sanyo Denki had a total of 4,273 as workers, including those under contract with manpower services. Uchibori said the company now operates with only 600 workers who are housed in various hotels inside the Subic Bay Freeport.

“It is expensive keeping them in hotels, and also paying them double,” Uchibori noted. “Still we are ready to take in more, but the problem now is where to house them,” he added.

Uchibori also said that despite the huge overhead for the company’s current operations, SDPI is not charging their customers any extra amount for their in-demand products.

Aside from ventilators, the firm’s cooling fans are also used in X-ray and MRI machines, virus DNA analyzers, blood analyzers, and portable oxygen concentrators.

With this, Chairman Eisma assured Sanyo Denki officials that the SBMA will help in easing up the supply chain for the company because of its vital role in the fight against Covid-19.

She also expressed gratitude to the company and its workers for continuing to produce the vital components needed for ventilators and other medical equipment.

“We will help you find ways so that shipment of your raw materials won’t be delayed, and so that you can employ more workers to step up production of this very important product,” Eisma told Uchibori and Yamazaki.

“Subic salutes you for your important role in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic,” she added. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

Workers inspect component parts before installation in cooling fans produced by Subic firm Sanyo Denki for various medical equipment like ventilators and virus DNA analyzers.

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SBMA eyeing Covid-19 mass-testing facility

After putting up two care and isolation facilities to help protect the local community from the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19), the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) now seeks to establish here a mass-testing facility that can carry out up to 2,000 tests a day.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the agency will implement the mass-testing project in partnership with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) “so that we can get a good grasp of the situation and act accordingly.”

“The testing will be open to the public, although the suspected and probable cases (previously known respectively as persons under monitoring, or PUMs, and persons under investigation, or PUIs) will be the priority,” Eisma said.

“We shall also coordinate with PhilHealth for the mechanics because they’re supposed to provide free coverage for indigent patients, but others would have to pay at cost,” she added.

Under the plan, the SBMA will put up at least two telephone booth-type swabbing centers at the Subic Bay Freeport main gate, where health workers will collect swab samples from patients.

“Once the samples are collected, these will be validated and sent to the Red Cross logistics and training center at the Naval Magazine area for testing,” Eisma said.

She added that the PRC testing facility is now being built to house testing equipment that include an automated RNA extraction machine that can run 90 samples per hour, as well as two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines that can complete up to a combined total of 2,000 tests a day.

Senator Richard Gordon, who is chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, said the PRC is using polymerase chain reaction-based test kits to ensure accuracy.

The SBMA sounded out this plan as public clamor for mass-testing resonated widely, with experts saying that it could further optimize the government’s quarantine strategy and prevent further loss of lives.

Locally, Eisma said that mass-testing would also help the government and the Freeport authority in particular, “to get a good reading of the prevalence of the outbreak with the end-view of safely lifting the ECQ in order to get the Subic businesses running again.”

“If we don’t undertake mass-testing, we’d be fighting Covid-19 blindly. We have to get a better grasp of the situation so that we can act accordingly,” Eisma added.

The SBMA has been initiating solutions to the growing health risks that the local community faced because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Before this, the Subic agency established two care and isolation facilities at the Subic Gym and the former Leciel Hotel using its own funds and some donations from private companies, civic organizations and concerned individuals.

These facilities will be used in the event that positive cases exceeded the capacity at the Baypointe Hospital in the Subic Freeport, which has admitted patients from Zambales, Olongapo City and Bataan.

As of April 18, Zambales has reported nine confirmed cases of Covid-19 with two recoveries, while Olongapo listed nine cases with one recovery, and Bataan province 80 cases with 15 recoveries. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

Two Covid-19 swabbing booths are being prepared for the mass-testing program of the SBMA. The booths have glass partitions to separate the health worker who will take swab samples from the patient who will stay outside the booth.

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Subic Freeport ‘surge’ facilities ready next week

Two care and isolation facilities being prepared by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) for use in case of a surge in new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases will be ready here by next week.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said on Wednesday that the two facilities—the former Leciel Hotel and the Subic gymnasium here—will be properly equipped this weekend with equipment and supplies provided by corporate and individual donors.

“We now have two facilities ready in case of a surge in Covid-19 patients, and I thank the companies and individuals in Subic for their support of this SBMA initiative and their concern for the welfare of the community in general,” Eisma said.

“The SBMA provided the two locations and some basic equipment, and now various companies and stakeholder groups are pitching in with personal protection equipment (PPE), supplies, even food and transport services so that our frontliners can do their job,” she added.

Eisma on Wednesday received from PMFTC Inc. a total of 50 collapsible hospital beds, which are the latest of the major donations received by the SBMA. These will be installed at the converted Subic gym.

Eisma also said that the SBMA management is requesting the agency’s Board of Directors to approve the hiring of 34 medical personnel on a project contract basis, “so that we can fully utilize these two care and isolation facilities.”

The Subic gym, which now houses 32 isolation tents, as well as work and rest quarters for medical care personnel, was inspected also on Wednesday by medical personnel from Baypointe Hospital and Medical Center, where most local Covid-19 cases are admitted.

Dr. Erlinda Alconga, an expert in tropical and infectious diseases who runs the Coviod-19 unit at Baypointe, said the Leciel Hotel facility, which is just two blocks away from the hospital, would be an ideal place to house additional Covid-19 patients coming in from nearby areas.

“In case of a surge in the number of patients received at Baypointe, all positive patients will be moved to the Subic gym while the Leciel facility would be used to monitor cases of PUI (person under investigation),” she said.

Eisma also told Alconga and other Baypointe staff that the SBMA is now arranging living quarters for nurses and other medical staff at the Leciel facility, which will be ready for occupancy this Friday.

The SBMA chief also assured the Baypointe medical team that the SBMA would provide for all the needs of health workers who would be assigned to the two SBMA isolation facilities.

“SBMA will be here with you because the Subic Bay Freeport cannot turn its back and will not turn its back to its neighbors in Zambales and Olongapo and other areas. Laban nating lahat ito,” Eisma said.

Meanwhile, the SBMA acknowledged donors of materials for its care and isolation facilities. These include the International Recreation Corp. (IREC); National Bookstore; Tong Lung (Phils) Metal Industry; JC Salas Builders and Design Services Inc.; DML Subic Freeport Corp.; and Polarmarine, Inc.

The SBMA also thanked donors of supplies, equipment and services like: Apollo Subic Int’l Trading; Coldwater Creek and Marketing; Datian Subic Shoes; EPEE Corp.; Fashion Institute of Subic; GrainPro Philippines Inc.; HHIC-Phil Inc. (Mr. Nack Young Kim); Juken Sangyo; Lino Khan Trading; M Bernardino Culinary Institute; Oscar Santos; MSK Group of Companies; Nichol Bento; PacTec Subic Inc.; Philippines Easpal; and Royal Duty free Shops.

Other donors are: Sakura Restaurant; SBMA EWMPC; Seafood By The Bay; Skipper Pineda; Subic Auto Trucks & Machinery, Ltd.; Subic Bay Freeport Grains Terminal; Subic Bay Multi-purpose Cooperative; Subic Boardwalk Inc.; Subic Line Foods (Chowking Petron); Sweet Finale; Tele Empire Inc.; Tong Lung (Phils) Metal Industry; United Auctioneers Inc.; Upsilon Sigma Phi; Asian Dragon; Econest Waste Management Corp.; Ekxinum Inc.; Great Empire Gaming & amusement Corp.; International Freeport Exchange Trader Inc.-Subic; Northfolk Int’l Technology Inc.; and the Subic Korean community. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

[1] SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma (right) discusses facility requirements with infectious diseases expert Dr. Erlinda Alconga and other Baypointe Hospital medical staff during an inspection of the SBMA care and isolation facility at the Subic gym on Wednesday.

[2] SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma (left) discusses facility requirements with Dr. Erlinda Alconga, tropical and infectious diseases expert, and other Baypointe medical staff during an inspection of the SBMA care and isolation facility at the Subic gym on Wednesday.

[3] Dr. Erlinda Alconga, tropical and infectious diseases expert at Baypointe Hospital in the Subic Bay Freeport (right), gestures as she discusses health protocols with SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma (second from left) during an inspection of the SBMA care and isolation facility at the Subic gym on Wednesday.

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Subic chapel masses go live streaming for Holy Week

In face of quarantine rules that prohibit mass gatherings to prevent transmission of the new coronavirus (Covid-19), masses and other religious activities at the San Roque Chapel here will be streamed live on the Internet during the Holy Week.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma Eisma said the first live streaming, which involved the simultaneous recording and broadcasting of the event in real time, covered the Palm Sunday mass celebrated at 9:00 a.m. today, April 5, by Fr. Audie Mozo Jr.

It was simultaneously broadcast live on the facebook pages of 89.5 Subic Bay Radio, an FM channel operated by the SBMA, and FUNtastic Subic Bay, the agency’s official tourism page, Eisma said.

The online broadcast of the holy mass here was the response of the SBMA and St. Columban Parish to the directive of Bishop Bartolome Santos, Jr. of the Diocese of Iba that “all celebrations shall be done on live stream so that people can virtually participate.”

The directive, dated the March 21, also indicated that the religious activities were to be programmed “so that we make our celebrations in the diocese simultaneously.”

To make the live streaming of religious activities here possible, Eisma said the SBMA Tourism Department consulted with Fr. Mozo, the parish priest of the Columban Church in Olongapo City, and came up with the following schedule for the San Roque Chapel:

• April 5 and 12: Sunday masses — live streaming at 9:00 AM;
• April 9: Evening mass of the Lord’s Supper — live streaming at 5:00 PM; and
• April 11: Easter vigil mass — live streaming at 7:00 PM.

Meanwhile, the directive from the Diocese of Iba also indicated that the processions on Holy Thursday and Good Friday may be undertaken with the public observing social distancing.

“After the Commemoration of the Lord’s Passion, without the faithful, the presider rides a pick up vehicle as he carries a Crucifix and goes to all the streets of the parish (and) people with lighted candles shall wait in front of their homes to venerate the Cross by kneeling down,” the directive said.

It added that because of the enforced curfew hours, the traditional “Salubong” will be omitted this year and may transferred to one of the Sundays of May.

Bishop Santos also said that the Chrism mass will be celebrated on April 30, Thursday, “to give our people the chance to participate in this joyful gathering.” He said the Vatican has given bishops the authority to change the date of the Chrism mass to a more suitable schedule. (MPD/SBMA)

PHOTO:

Schedule of Holy Week masses at the San Roque Chapel to be streamed live over SBMA's social media accounts.

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SBMA seeks help in tracing contacts of Subic PUI

Authorities in this Freeport on Tuesday (March 31) said they are reaching out for help in tracing the contacts of a government diver here who recently tested positive for the new coronavirus (Covid-19) infection.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the agency will seek assistance from officials of Olongapo City and other areas where the patient had recently traveled in order to avert further virus transmission among his contacts.

“We are in a bind here because while the PUI (person under investigation) is a crew member of one of the NAMRIA ships berthed in Subic Bay, we have learned that he has relatives and a family in two Olongapo barangays and that he has visited them recently,” Eisma said.

“What also compounds the problem is that in the intervening period between his confinement and possible date of infection, he had travelled to Mindoro via Manila and Batangas to visit his family and friends there,” Eisma added.

According to information gathered by the SBMA Incident Management Team (IMT), the PUI is a crewmember of one of the four survey ships of the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) berthed in Subic Bay. The agency is under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The patient first complained of fever and body pains on March 10, after cleaning the ship’s hull with fellow divers near Grande Island.

Thereafter he consulted doctors at Baypointe Hospital on March 12, and again on March 13. In the afternoon of March 13, he picked up his sister in Olongapo and, with her, consulted again at St. Jude’s Hospital in the City.

In the next two days he stayed on his ship, the hydrographer BRP Palma, which was docked at Subic’s Bravo Wharf.

On March 16, he consulted doctors at the Our Lady of Lourdes International Medical Center in Olongapo but denied history of travel and, thus, was admitted on suspicion that he had dengue fever.

When dengue tests proved negative the following day, he finally admitted travel but denied going out of his vehicle. Swab samples taken on March 21 yielded positive results of Covid-19 infection on March 29.

According to the PUI’s ship commander, his subordinate has been regularly taking “ship liberties” during evenings ever since their ship returned to Subic in December last year until March 7. But he denied knowing his subordinate’s whereabouts during those nights out because the latter did not sleep on the ship.

It was also ascertained that before he fell ill, the PUI travelled to Mindoro on March 6, stayed with friends and family in Mindoro on March 7 and 8, then went back to his ship in Subic on March 9.

Eisma said that while personal information about PUIs are normally withheld for privacy reasons, this particular case needs the attention of concerned agencies and local government units because it could potentially increase local virus transmission.

“There should not be any quarrel about whether to classify the PUI as a resident of the Subic Bay Freeport or Olongapo City, or even of Mindoro because that doesn’t matter at all,” Eisma said. “What matters is that we know he has been in all these areas and we might have an outbreak in our hands if we don’t act immediately to identify his contacts.”

Eisma said that the PUI has been described as in stable condition, has good appetite, and took phone calls from the SBMA-IMT for pertinent information.

Meanwhile, his ship was quarantined on March 16 and was eventually brought to anchorage farther out on the bay on March 29. His fellow crewmembers aboard BRP Palma are currently in stable condition and do not show any symptom, Eisma added. (MPD-SBMA)

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SBMA takes over hotel for Covid-19 isolation

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) took over a six-storey hotel building here in the Subic Bay Freeport for use as additional care and isolation facility in the fight against the new coronavirus (Covid-19).

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma inspected the former Leciel Hotel here on Monday following its turnover on a temporary agreement with the Philippine Veterans Bank, which controls the property.

Eisma said the hotel has 81 rooms, mostly with their own toilet, bath and kitchen, which can be converted into care and isolation rooms. Utility companies here also restored power and water supplies to the hotel on Monday at the behest of the SBMA.

“We don’t want to be caught unprepared in case more patients of Covid-19 turn up. We must be ready for any eventuality because in a pandemic situation we should expect the normal health care system to be overwhelmed,” Eisma explained.

“We pray that eventually this won’t have to be used, but right now our duty is to find all means possible to be able to respond to this health emergency,” she added.

Aside from Leciel Hotel, the SBMA is converting the Subic Gym into a care and isolation facility for PUIs with mild to moderate symptoms. This will enable the Baypointe Hospital and Medical Center in the Subic Freeport to serve PUIs with severe symptoms, those with comorbidities or existing medical conditions, and COVID-19 positive patients, Eisma said.

Baypointe, which is just two blocks away from Leciel Hotel, has a limited room capacity, and has admitted several PUIs from various Zambales towns and the nearby Olongapo City.

“With increased capacity, we will be able to provide for the needs of the local Freeport population and, should the need arise, to accommodate as well referrals by the Department of Health (DOH) from other areas.” Eisma explained. She added that under government protocol, the DOH can assign and apportion PUIs among different hospitals in order to manage overall capacity.

The SBMA chief said that as early as last month, the Subic agency has been eyeing the former Hanjin condominium at Subic’s Naval Magazine area for conversion into an isolation facility, but said venue was scrapped because it was too far.

As care and isolation facilities, both Leciel Hotel and the Subic Gym will be under the supervision of experts from the DOH-Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (RESU) and Baypointe Hospital, Eisma said.

At the same time, the SBMA chief revealed that the Subic agency is exploring ways to outsource a complete diagnostics Covid-19 test system from South Korea. This will allow the SBMA to operate a remote dedicated center for Covid-19 tests in partnership with a DOH-accredited public laboratory or testing center.

“The overall plan for the SBFZ response is to strengthen local capacity to hunker down and withstand the worst, which is the possibility of a surge in local infections—while, at the same time, instituting tougher measures to suppress the virus and deprive its means of acquiring more targets,” Eisma said.

“It’s essentially a combination of defensive and offensive measures that presuppose a community that strictly observes quarantine and social distancing as the first line of defense, and then backed by a capable and reliable health care system,” she added.

Eisma also said that effective April 1, Subic Bay Freeport residents who shall exit the Freeport shall be required to surrender their SBMA ID and Quarantine Pass, thereby preventing their re-entry into the SBFZ. This is designed to prevent residents from freely moving in and out of the zone, which is a violation of the Luzon-wide quarantine declared by Malacañang, she added. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

SBMA Chairman Wilma T. Eisma inspects the six-story former Leciel Hotel in the Subic Bay Freeport, which will be converted temporarily into a care and isolation facility for Covid-19 patients.

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LOOK: Locator donates PPEs; Training on CoVid Testing; SBF streets amidst ECQ

[1] Dr. Arceli Layson of the SBMA Public Health and Safety Department (PHSD) try donning a face shield donated by Tong Lung Phils. Metal Industry Co., a Taiwanese locator in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

The company donated 11 face shields and 19 goggles for the use of the SBMA Incident Management Team (IMT) a 24/7 task force and response team mobilized for the Covid-19 emergency.

[2] Health workers from the Subic Bay Freeport and Olongapo City undergo training on Covid-19 testing at the SBMA gym on Tuesday.

The training focused on the proper procedures when taking swabs of specimen from potential Covid-19 patients, as well as the correct donning and doffing of personal protective equipment (PPE) for the test procedure.

[3] A lone ground maintenance worker in the Subic Bay Freeport sweep clean the sidewalks of an empty parking area near the Subic Gym as the Luzon-wide Enhanced Community Quarantine reaches its ninth day on Wednesday, March 25.

Photos by MPD/SBMA

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DOH-RESU train Subic health workers on Covid-19 response

Doctors and other medical personnel in the Subic Bay Freeport area received training from the Department of Health’s Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (DOH-RESU) on Tuesday to acquaint them with proper medical protocols when responding to potential Covid-19 patients.

The training held at the Subic gymnasium involved personnel from the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority’s Public Health and Safety Department (SBMA-PHSD), Baypointe Hospital and Medical Center in the Subic Freeport, and James L. Gordon Memorial Hospital and ZMMG Coop Hospital in Olongapo City.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the training was a capacity-building exercise to boost the competence of local health workers, and establish cooperation procedures among local hospitals during the Covid-19 emergency.

The training focused on the proper procedures when taking swabs of specimen from potential Covid-19 patients, as well as on the correct donning and doffing of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the test procedure.

It also included a demonstration on the sanitary disposal of said PPE items like masks, gloves and goggles after use, as well as a discussion of the DOH-prepared algorithm for detecting and diagnosing categories of patients.

“This is very important because the medical personnel need to have the knowledge and skills on how to properly respond to Covid-related incidents and emergencies,” said Dr. Solomon R. Jacalne, head of the SBM- PHSD and commander of the SBMA’s Incident Management Team (IMT).

“The training we have attended is part of our preparations for the mobilization of our IMT,” he said.

Jacalne assured the public, however, that at the moment the Subic Bay Freeport Zone remains a zero-Covid-19 area, and urged the public to cooperate to keep the virus at bay.

“The main challenge we are now facing here is keeping the people inside their homes. Some, we observe, are not yet taking this (Covid-19 threat) seriously. That is why we don’t stop with our information campaign,” Jacalne said.

He said the strict implementation of home quarantine is vital, as well as the regulated entry and exit and curfew hours imposed by the SBMA. “These should be obeyed for the safety of us all,” he added.

Meanwhile, SBMA Deputy Administrator for Public health and Safety Ronnie Yambao pointed out that the DOH training on Covid testing had integrated both public and private hospitals in a unified approach to equip and prepare health workers and the local community for any Covid-19 case.

“We are preparing our medical workers as part of the strategic program of the SBMA because only DOH Covid Test Centers have the capability to generate and validate results like the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) and San Lazaro Hospital,” he added. (MPD/SBMA)

PHOTOS:

Health workers from the Subic Bay Freeport and Olongapo City undergo training on Covid-19 testing at the SBMA gym on Tuesday

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INTER-AGENCY TASK FORCE ON EMERGING INFECTIOUS DISEASES (IATF) RESOLUTION NO. 14: SALIENT POINTS RELEVANT TO THE FREEPORT

1. The IATF organized the Response Cluster and Incident Management Team at the national, regional and local levels, designating the DOH to lead the response clusters and the Department of Interior and Local Government to lead the incident management teams.

LGUs must coordinate with the Regional Response Clusters headed by the Regional Directors of the DOH.

2. The IATF allowed the accommodation of distressed or stranded overseas Filipino workers in hotels, which ceased operations since the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine. OWWA shall provide certifications for distressed OFWs.

3. It immediately suspended the issuance of visas to all foreign nationals, as well as visa-free privileges based on visa waiver agreements, holders of Hong Kong, Macau, Macau-Portuguese passports and British national overseas passports. Foreign spouses and children of Filipinos are exempted from the above suspension.

Foreign nationals with visas previously issued by foreign service posts will not be allowed entry into the country, except for accredited foreign government and international organization officials and their dependents

4. Business process outsourcing and export-oriented establishments were given until March 22 to prepare alternative work arrangements, such as temporary accommodations for their workers, the need to shuttle employees and the transfer of necessary equipment to facilitate work from home arrangements.

5. Exempted from the quarantine are the following government officials and their skeleton workforce:

a. Media entities/personnel provided that only the 50% (maximum) of their workforce are allowed.
b. Members of Congress and their chiefs of staffs
c. Department Secretaries, undersecretaries, assistant secretaries
d. Bureau Directors of the different government agencies under executive branch
e. Ombudsman and deputy ombudsman
f. Justice of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Court of Tax Appeals, and the Sandiganbayan
g. Judges of regional, metropolitan, and municipal circuit trial courts, and prosecutors
h. Local chief executives and close-in staffs

6. Exempted from the quarantine are the following private entities/individuals and/or their skeleton workforce:
a. Cargo vehicles (maximum of three personnel)
b. Delivery services (food, medicine, water, and other basic necessities
c. Employees of manufacturing plants (food, medicine, medical supplies, and other essential products)
d. Employees of retail establishments (groceries, supermarkets, convenience stores, public markets, pharmacies, drug stores)
e. Logistic Services (cargo handling, warehousing, trucking, freight forwarding, and shipping lines)
f. Hospital and medical clinics
g. Food preparations
h. Water refilling stations
i. Banks and capital markets
j. Power, energy, water, IT, and telecommunications
k. Waste disposal services
l. Export and BPO companies
m. Airline and aircraft maintenance employees (including pilots and crews)
n. Ship captain and crew
o. Hotels that have bookings as of March 17
p. Energy companies and their third-party contractors
q. Pastors, priests, imam (for funeral services)

7. Manufacturing, BPOs and export oriented companies must have able to arrange accommodations and shuttle services for their employees. The deadline is extended until MARCH 26, 2020.

/SNL

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1st Subic PUI negative; second one recorded

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) announced on Wednesday that the first Person Under Investigation (PUI) in this Freeport has tested negative for infection of the new coronavirus (Covid-19).

The first PUI, who was identified as a Briton with recent travel in the United Kingdom, exhibited symptoms like fever, cough, colds and diarrhea and was treated at the Medical City in the nearby Clark Freeport.

However, SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said that a second PUI has just been recorded on Wednesday and admitted to an isolation facility here to start treatment for Covid-19 symptoms.

Eisma said the patient is a 50-year old Filipino who has traveled to Manila last week.

The patient is currently in an intensive care unit (ICU), has fever, but is reported to be stable, she added.

With this development, the SBMA chief urged all Subic Freeport stakeholders to stay at home and heed the government’s enhanced community quarantine protocols.

“I beg each and every one of you, please stay at home. Covid is highly contagious and can cause death,” Eisma said in a social media post.

“Between the hospitals at the Subic Bay Freeport and Olongapo City, we have only around 20 isolation rooms. The reality is we do not have enough resources to handle a contagion of any magnitude,” Eisma emphasized.

The SBMA had earlier shut down most of its offices in compliance with Malacañang’s declaration of enhanced quarantine all over Luzon starting Tuesday.

Eisma said only the agency’s Public Health and Safety Department, Law Enforcement Department, Fire Department, and Maintenance and Transportation Department are fully operational.

Meanwhile, 18 other SBMA offices operate with skeletal force while 10 others have totally shut down to minimize person-to-person contacts in the Subic Bay area, Eisma said.

The SBMA had also announced on Tuesday the suspension of mass public transport operations; prohibition of mass gatherings like tourism and sports events; restriction of private business operations except for those providing basic necessities and such activities related to food and medicine production; and prohibition of dine-in in restaurants.

However, the SBMA said that business process outsourcing establishments and export-oriented industries shall remain operational, provided that strict social distancing measures are observed and that their respective personnel shall be given appropriate temporary accommodation arrangements by March 18, 2020.

The SBMA also required full operations by vital businesses like public utilities, including power, water and telecommunication; banks, money transfer service and related financial services; groceries, convenience stores, supermarkets, and wet markets; pharmacies and drugstores; hardware stores and construction supplies; and gas stations. (HEE/MPD-SBMA)

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SBMA to restrict Freeport entry to check COVID threat

Officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) have ordered temporary restrictions in the entry of persons to the Subic Bay Freeport Zone to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) within the zone.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the order was unanimously approved by the members of the SBMA board of directors late Saturday in response to an immediate need to protect the safety and well-being of stakeholders in the Subic Bay Freeport in face of increased COVID-19 infection in nearby areas.

She said the entry restrictions will be effective for about a month, starting 12:00 a.m. on Monday, March 16, until 12:00 a.m. of April 14, or while the State of Public Health Emergency declared by Malacañang is in force.

“I know that this is a bitter pill to swallow, as it would hugely impact on business operations in the greater Subic Bay area. But the welfare of everyone in the community should always be our primary consideration,” Eisma stressed.

“The entry restrictions serve as a safety and preventive measure to check the spread of COVID-19 and minimize the danger of infection that each of us face today,” she added.

While the SBMA order temporarily restricts the entry of individuals into the Freeport, Eisma said the agency had identified exceptions who would be allowed to get in, among them Subic Bay Freeport residents.

Eisma said the SBMA ruled, however, that SBF residents who come from Metro Manila and other areas with local COVID-19 transmission should undergo mandatory self-quarantine for 14 days under the supervision of the agency’s Public Health and Safety Department (PHSD).

She said that SBF locators, employees, and students will be allowed entry provided they exhibit no signs or symptoms of possible COVID-19 infection and that they shall exit the Freeport on the same day of their entry.

This guideline applies as well to accredited service providers, logistics enterprises delivering or picking up goods or supplies, port users, employees of government agencies operating within the SBFZ, suppliers, manpower and logistics providers of ongoing SBMA projects, and emergency service personnel.

Eisma said the SBMA began enforcing health safety measures early last month when the coronavirus outbreak was spreading from China into other countries. These measures included a temporary ban on the entry of persons, vessels and aircraft coming directly from COVID-hit countries and thermal scanning and screening at Freeport gates.

Last week, the SBMA began disinfection protocols and enforced a one-door policy in SBMA offices after local transmission of COVID-19 was reported in Manila.

Meanwhile, Eisma urged all Subic business locators to conduct business with non-SBF enterprises via videoconferencing or teleconferencing, and encouraged SBMA clients to submit documents online to minimize personal contacts.

“These measures, like frequent handwashing and maintaining proper hygiene, may seem puny at first, but these actually enable us to keep safe and to be strong for others,” Eisma pointed out.

“Our system might be deficient and we might be ill-prepared for an emergency like this, but if we cooperate and support each other and exercise malasakit for our community, then we can survive this ordeal,” she added. (HEE/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

[1] Advisory posted in Subic Bay Freeport's facebook page restricting pass through vehicles on all SBFZ gates.

[2] Thermal scanning is undertaken at the gates and building entrances in the Subic Bay Freeport where restricted entry will be imposed on Monday to keep COVID-19 infection at bay.

[3] Members of the SBMA management team headed by Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma conduct an outdoor meeting on Friday in a wooded park near the SBMA office to drive home the need for social distancing as a health safety measure in the Subic Bay Freeport.

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SBMA allots P5M for Covid-19 emergency

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has approved a P5-million supplemental fund for the procurement of equipment and supplies to respond to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) emergency.

SBMA Chairman Wilma Eisma said the agency’s board of directors authorized the appropriation during its meeting on Tuesday after the SBMA began its disinfection protocol in offices and other public areas in the Freeport over the weekend.

Eisma said the P5-milion budget will be used to purchase additional spraying equipment and disinfecting agents to sustain a twice-a-day spraying schedule, as well as protective gears like hazmat (hazardous materials) suits, and a new ambulance.

Part of the supplemental fund will also go to the maintenance of a quarantine facility at the Subic Bay International Airport complex, she added.

“We will do everything to keep Covid-19 out of Subic Bay and protect our stakeholders here,” Eisma said. “This is why I’m very thankful to my fellow board members for their immediate action on this request for additional equipment and supplies to combat the Covid threat.”

SBMA director Marvin Macapagal said the board unanimously approved the supplemental budget because it was important to maintain Subic’s safety and security to keep it attractive to investors and secure for its stakeholders.

“We are residents here and our families live here, so we fully support this move to heighten the preparedness of our medical team and facility,” Macapagal added.

SBMA Deputy Administrator for Public Health and Safety Ronnie Yambao said the SBMA has already spent almost P1 million for the initial purchase of face masks, thermal scanners, goggles, and other personal protective equipment (PPE) to equip health personnel here in the battle against Covid-19.

He added that the Subic authority has also mobilized a 24/7 medical team to coordinate health events and concerns with the Department of Health (DOH) and its accredited and referral hospitals and the Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (RESU), and set up 24/7 telephone helpline to answer any Covid-related inquiry.

Yambao said the SBMA also has a report and contact-tracing system in place. This is manned by personnel from the Occupational Health and Safety Division, who are tasked with monitoring the 14-day quarantine requirement for travelers here.

Last Sunday, Eisma ordered the start of a disinfection protocol in SBMA offices and public areas in the Subic Freeport after President Rodrigo Duterto declared the country in a state of public health emergency with the confirmation of the first case of community-based infection.

The disinfection protocol is being carried out by the SBMA Public Health and Safety Department initially in all SBMA offices and public areas, but Eisma said business locators and other Subic stakeholders are now also implementing their own safety measures.

Eisma also reminded the public that other health safety protocols announced by the SBMA previously will remain in force. These include the ban on entry of people, ships and aircraft coming from COVID-hit countries, as well as voluntary quarantine of those who recently travelled abroad and thermal scanning at Subic Bay Freeport gates for foreign visitors.

SBMA director Brian Gordon clarified that despite the urgency with which the agency responded to the virus threat, there has been no reported cases of Covid-19 infection here so far.

“But we are not waiting for that to happen, so we go ahead and implement measures to keep this free port safe,” Gordon said. “It is in the interest of the SBMA and the Freeport to be equipped and prepared and we hope the locators and businesses will follow suit,” he added. (Reynaldo G. Navales, Sunstar Pampanga)

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1848488

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Subic Bay Freeport records first PUI for Covid-19

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) reported on Friday night that a patient under investigation (PUI) for possible coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is confined in an isolation facility at the Baypointe Hospital and Medical Center complex here.

The information said the PUI is a foreign national with a recent history of travel to the United Kingdom and is exhibiting such symptoms as fever, cough, colds, and diarrhea.

The SBMA Public Health and Safety Department is coordinating with concerned parties, including Le Charme Hotel where the patient had checked in, for contact-tracing.

Le Charme said it has arranged for the disinfection of its property and the isolation of personnel who have had contact with the patient.

The SBMA noted that monitoring of the PUI continues. In case of a confirmed Covid-19 case, the patient will be transferred to the Jose B. Lingad Hospital in Pampanga or any referral hospital to be recommended by the Bureau of Quarantine.

“Everybody is advised to take precautionary measures, especially social distancing, and personal hygiene to protect us against the coronavirus disease. Let us keep the Subic Bay Freeport safe,” SBMA chairman and administrator Wilma Eisma said in a statement.

To ensure public safety within the freeport, Eisma said the SBMA has adopted various measures to contain the possible spread of the highly contagious disease.

These include the cancellation of all events scheduled in March in all SBMA-owned facilities, strict enforcement of border controls, and the implementation of a four-day work-week.

She also said the SBMA has adopted a one-door policy in all its buildings to ensure enforcement of protocols on sanitation and screening of symptoms and the online submission by clients of all documentary requirements instead of paper submissions.

“We urge everybody to take all necessary actions to guard against the spread of Covid-19 in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. Let us observe health safety practices, proper hygiene, and the one-meter social distancing rule,” Eisma added. (Ruben Veloria, PNA)

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1096598

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