SBMA re-certified ISO compliant by International Auditors

DQS Certification Phils. Inc. has recently re-certified the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) for its compliance with ISO 9001:2015 and 14001:2015 standards.

According to Vicente Evidente, Jr., SBMA Planning and Development Office (PDO) manager and the agency’s Quality Management Representative (QMR), the third-party surveillance audit is the DQS’s first face-to-face audit here since the pandemic, with the previous audit held online.

“We just had the second surveillance audit by the DQS, our first face-to-face audit since the pandemic. It entailed a more rigorous inspection than the online audit,” Evidente said.

“The DQS audit team found that the SBMA is compliant with the ISO standards, with special mention of the Seaport department for its compliance with the International Ship & Port Facility Security (ISPS) that contributed to its high compliance ratings,” he said.

Evidente also explained that an ISPS code establishes essential security requirements for ships, ports, terminals, carriers, seafarers, and cargo as a means to prevent maritime security hazards or any mishaps.  

During the two-day audit of ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015, the agency’s frontliner-departments were scrutinized for their compliance with the standards of Quality Management System and Environmental Management System, respectively.

Meanwhile, SBMA Chairman and Administrator Jonathan D. Tan lauded the men and women of the agency for successfully fulfilling the requirements for the said standards.

Tan added that this would boost the agency’s thrusts namely, to attract more investments, create more employment and earn revenues.

“The SBMA’s compliance with the international standards of Quality Management and Environmental Management would definitely translate to higher investor confidence and the achievement of our objectives,” Tan said.

Tan also announced that another certification, the ISO 45001:2015 or the Occupational Health and Safety Management, is being documented by the SBMA Public Health and Safety Department (PHSD). (MPD-SBMA) 

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Galvez lauds SBMA vaxx program for economic frontliners

National Task Force (NTF) against Covid-19 chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. praised the efforts of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma to vaccinate workers and other economic frontliners in the Subic Bay Freeport.

Speaking in the town of Subic in Zambales during the second day of the National Vaccination Day-Phase 2 on Thursday, Galvez noted that the SBMA has been extending its vaccine rollout to companies inside the Freeport to keep workers safe and sustain economic activities despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

He pointed out that the SBMA has focused on the private sector, including Freeport stakeholders, while local government units (LGUs) attended to the communities, especially residents with comorbidity, senior citizens, and the youth.

Galvez also cited the role of the SBMA in establishing the Subic Freeport as an entry point for repatriation of overseas Filipino workers, as well as for returning seafarers under the government’s crew change program.

Eisma, for her part, said that it was her job as SBMA chairman to take care of Freeport workers and take necessary action, especially as she observed that LGUs were having a hard time securing vaccine supplies for their constituents.

“For me, it was very important that workers are vaccinated and protected because they are the ones going out every day to sustain their families during the pandemic when most people were told to stay home,” Eisma said.

“It’s very fortunate for us that business locators in Subic are very cooperative, so we have done very well on our company-based vaccination program where we usually had two or three companies scheduled for vaccination for day’s vaccine rollout,” she added.

Eisma also thanked Sec. Duque, Sec. Galvez and Covid-19 testing czar Sec. Vince Hizon for supporting the SBMA vaccine initiative. “They are all very accessible. Our success in vaccination is largely due to their support,” she said.

The SBMA chief said that as of December 16, the SBMA, in partnership with the Department of Health, has administered a total of 19,535 doses of vaccine, mostly to workers in the A4 category with a total of 5,617 first doses and 3,993 second doses.

The SBMA-DOH vaccine rollout also benefited Olongapo City residents with 7,661 first doses, 5,406 second doses, and 57 booster shots; Subic Bay Freeport residents with 1,208 first doses, 1,119 second doses, and 6 booster shots; Zambales residents with 1,383 first doses, 1,069 second doses, and 16 booster shots; and LGUs outside Zambales with 997 first doses, 610 second doses, and 3 booster shots.

“We are very confident that most employees of companies located inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone are either fully vaccinated or have reached herd immunity status. The SBMA itself has close to 2,800 employees and only 10 remain unvaccinated due to medical reasons,” she added.

Eisma also said that the SBMA is “looking forward to economic recovery next year,” pointing out that some Subic companies have even started expanding operations, and that tourists are now back in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. (MPD-SBMA)

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SBMA health unit suspends face-to-face operations

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has suspended all face-to-face operations at its medical dispensary and satellite emergency unit at the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA) due to lack of personnel necessary for normal operations.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said this was because 13 frontline health workers of the agency recently tested positive for Covid-19 and had to be on quarantine for 14 days.

Eisma said in a public advisory issued on Saturday that health services dispensed to Subic Freeport stakeholders will temporarily consist of consultations through videoconferencing or telemedicine in place of face-to-face engagement.

However, the agency will continue to provide emergency medical services (EMS) in the next two weeks that the infected personnel undergo mandatory quarantine and treatment, she added.

The SBMA had similarly resorted to telemedicine to attend to Subic stakeholders when a community lockdown was ordered last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the SBMA Public Health and Safety Department (PHSD), two of its staff tested positive of Covid-19 last week, followed by one volunteer doctor in the DOH-SBMA vaccination program.

As contact-tracing indicated multiple exposures among the staff, all PHSD personnel were then subjected to reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test from August 24 to 26, thus confirming 10 positive cases at the dispensary and three positives at the SBIA emergency unit. All were asymptomatic and placed on quarantine.

PHSD manager Dr. Solomon Jacalne said all the department personnel had been fully vaccinated, but the so-called “breakthrough infection” may still happen because of heavy viral load that health workers are often exposed to.

“It could also be that there was weak immune response to the vaccine they had, or that they were exposed to a stronger virus variant. Remember that Covid-19 vaccines don’t protect you from getting the virus, but it lessens the severity of the effects of the virus,” Jacalne added.

In view of this, Eisma also ordered the PHSD to temporarily stop the vaccine rollout project with the Department of Health while personnel were recuperating, and charged the SBMA Fire Department to provide back-up in case of calls for emergency medical services (EMS) response.

Eisma added that the repatriation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) at the Subic Bay International Airport will continue, as there is enough staff to cover EMS response in the area.

Normal operations at the Dispensary and SBIA unit are expected to resume on September 10 upon completion by health frontliners of the mandatory quarantine, she also said.

Still, the SBVMA chief urged Subic stakeholders to always maintain health safety protocols in face of rising Covid-19 cases in the country.

“Let us not be complacent, even if we have already been vaccinated. Let us stay at home and avoid going out when it’s not necessary, and most of all wear masks and shields, and always sanitize because these help keep the virus at bay,” Eisma added. (MPD-SBMA)

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Second group of A4 workers get jabbed in Subic Freeport

Another Covid-19 vaccination program for workers was carried out here on Wednesday (Aug. 11), exactly two weeks after the launching of the government’s vaccination drive for frontline personnel in essential sectors or the A4 priority group in this Freeport. 

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the second privately-initiated workers’ vaccination program opened at the TeleEmpire Inc. office here to benefit the firm’s 280 employees.

The project was held in partnership with the Department of Health (DOH), which assisted in vaccne access, as well as in the Resbakuna center accreditation.

“I hope more companies in Subic would follow suit to have their employees vaccinated, so that we all can have peace of mind while going about our own businesses,” said Eisma, who continues to drumbeat the importance of having workers inoculated against the Covid-19 virus.

“Again, I urge Freeport workers to register for any vaccination program offered by their employers, or by their respective local government unit. It doesn’t really matter what brand of vaccine is available; what’s important is getting the dose that would keep you safe from the virus,” she added.

Eisma and Secretary Vince Dizon of the National Action Plan Against COVID-19, Health Undersecretary Roger Tong-an, and Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque launched the government’s vaccination drive for economic frontliners at the Nidec Subic Philippines Corp. here on July 27.

SBMA Deputy Administrator for Health and Safety Ronnie Yambao the vaccine rollout at TeleEmpire was administered by medical staff from the privately-owned ZMMG Coop Women’s and Children Hospital in Olongapo City, using Sinovac vaccine.

Charry Navarro, administrative officer of TeleEmpire, said the one-day vaccination schedule would provide the first dose of the vaccine to all the firm’s 280 workers.

Meanwhile, TeleEmpire president and CEO Johannes Lin lauded the SBMA for its efforts in enforcing health protocols in the Subic Bay Freeport and helping locators get vaccine allocations.

Lin also thanked the firm’s Filipino employees for their concern to fellow workers and for showing discipline during the pandemic.

“Everybody wants to be comfortable while working inside the office, that is why everybody is doing their share to keep themselves healthy and Covid-free,” he added.

Lin also said that TeleEmpire had prohibited employees from going around the Freeport, even in the malls, and had set up recreational facilities and a mini-store in the TeleEmpire complex to encourage workers to stay in their quarters when not in duty.

The firm provides facility management services and business process outsourcing services to Philippine overseas gaming operators located out of the Freeport.

Lin said the firm had planned to initiate vaccination of workers as early as April this year, but most of the employees worried about the effect of the vaccines after reading negative reactions from the social media.

“Proper information from medical experts and distributing reading materials about the Covid-19 vaccines convinced our workers to get vaccinated,” Lin happily said. (MPD-SBMA)

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Subic kicks off vaccination of economic frontliners

The vaccination drive for economic frontliners in the country began in this Freeport on Tuesday with five workers at Nidec Subic Philippines Corp. getting their first shot of Covid-19 vaccine in a ceremonial launch.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Wilma T. Eisma said the vaccination program is expected to snowball among the registered business locators here and help bring about Subic’s economic revival. 

“This undertaking is very important because the workers are the backbone of the economy and it is important that we maintain their well-being and safety at all times,” she also said.

The ceremonial vaccination was organized by the SBMA, the Department of Health (DOH), the National Task Force Against Covid-19 (NTF), and the Interagency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).

Secretary Vince Dizon, who is deputy chief implementer of the National Action Plan Against COVID-19, witnessed the ceremony along with Eisma, DOH Undersecretary Roger Tong-an, Zambales Vice Governor Jay Khonghun, and Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, who also conducted a press briefing later at the vaccination site.

Among the first to be vaccinated were Nidec President Kiyoshi Sato, the firm’s general manager Marissa Tamayo, and Carol Adamos, Dexter Saludez, and Ruel Fernandez, all workers at the manufacturing company.

Sato said the Nidec employees were honored to be chosen for the launch of the A4 mass vaccination in the Philippines. “Due to the support that we received from SBMA Chairman Eisma, the DOH team and the Philippine government, we are able to provide the vaccine to you all today, free of charge,” Sato also told Nidec workers.

Sato said the company has been operating in the Subic Freeport since 1998 as a factory for hard-disc drive motors, and has invested $100 million to produce gearboxes mainly for robotics and other automation-related industries.

“Nidec Subic currently has 458 workers and plans to increase to 800 employees by this year. We plan to continue to grow this company and continue to value the health and well-being of all our employees,” Sato added.

A total of 300 doses of Sinovac vaccine arrived here on Tuesday for the initial inoculation drive for economic frontliners. Eisma said Nidec workers will receive the rest of the doses in the next two days.

She added that she has also received a commitment from the national government for the weekly release of vaccines for workers in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone to boost the A4 vaccination program.

“From the men and women of the Subic Bay Freeport, we thank you for the A4 vaccination program that is supported by President Duterte,” Eisma told Secretary Roque during the ceremony. “We are happy that our economic frontliners may do their work without fear of getting serious effects of Covid-19,” she added.

With the commitment for additional vaccines, Eisma on Tuesday urged Freeport workers to register for the vaccination program. She added that while the vaccine is subject to availability and approval by the DOH, the SBMA will coordinate the registry of workers qualified under the A4 priority group.

As of now, the SBMA and the DOH are continuing with the vaccination of Subic stakeholders in the A1 to A3 priority groups, she added. (MPD-SBMA)

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SBMA health frontliners get vaccinated vs Covid-19

A total of 78 personnel from the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority’s Public Health and Safety Group (SBMA-PHSG) got inoculated with Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday, March 25.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the mass vaccination was made possible through the assistance of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Olongapo City Health Office.

SBMA doctors, nurses, medical technicians and other frontline health workers were on the DOH’s priority list for vaccination as they are exposed to Covid-19 risks because of their job, Eisma said.

“This wouldn’t have been possible without the DOH placing our frontliners on the priority list and we thank Health Secretary Duque and Region 3-DOH Dir. Cesar Casion for that. We also thank Mayor Rolen Paulino Jr. as it is the Olongapo City Health Office that administered the shots,” Eisma added.

She added that Paulino had also offered to include Freeport residents in the city’s vaccination program, as the Subic Bay Freeport is not under any local government unit.

“I am so happy that we are taking a whole community approach to the Covid-19 problem and I’m certain that when neighbors band together, they can do things better and faster,” the SBMA chief also said.

Meanwhile, Eisma said that the SBMA is preparing for a mass vaccination program for stakeholders in the Subic Bay Freeport in partnership with the DOH, the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce (SBFCC), and the SBMA Employees Welfare Multi-Purpose Cooperative (SBMA-EWMPC).

“We’re covering all possible access points to get hold of vaccines for workers and business locators, as well as residents in the Freeport and SBMA employees and their families,” Eisma revealed.

“We are in touch with the Philippine Red Cross to help us procure vaccines, and we’re also eyeing this tie-up between the SBFCC and a pharmaceutical outfit to help us realize a mass vaccination program here in Subic,” she added.

In her recent State of the Freeport Address (SOFA), Eisma underscored the agency’s fight against Covid-19 as an important factor in the continuing economic growth in Subic, pointing out that “proactive measures to fight Covid-19 gave us the resilience to be able to bounce back” after the economic slowdown.

The mass vaccination program, she said, is a crucial component of the SBMA’s anti-Covid battle along with mass testing and strict implementation of health protocols.

Subic business locators, meanwhile, have given the SBMA excellent scores for its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic since March last year, citing the agency’s strict implementation of safety protocols that allowed businesses to continue operation amid the health crisis. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

SBMA frontline health workers receive their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday in Olongapo City

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