Former SBMA chief wins 2nd Stevie for innovative COVID-19 contingencies in Subic

Former Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma has won another Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards this year as  “Thought Leader of the Year.”

According to the award-giving body, the award is given to individuals with innovative ideas who demonstrate the confidence to promote or share them as actionable or distilled insights.

Eisma, who is now a director of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), was bestowed the silver Stevie for her Covid-19 contingency plans for the Subic Bay Freeport that paved the way for businesses inside the Freeport to endure the effects of the pandemic.

During her term, the agency has implemented measures that ensured, not only for businesses to thrive but the safety and security of the stakeholders in the Freeport as well.

Innovations such as business teleconferencing; disinfection protocols and mass testing; emergency isolation facilities; online bidding for products and services; virtual job fairs; online medical consultation; and a “bubble” concept for sports tournaments, seminars and workshops, and other events to boost local business operations, were maximized during that time.

These measures not only sustained jobs and investments in Subic, but also led to significant economic growth during the worst period of the pandemic: P3.2-billion revenue, P1.3-billion new committed investments, 682 new jobs, and $1.12-billion imports and $1.03-billion exports in 2020, the first year of the pandemic.

These records were even eclipsed in 2021 with a P3.47-billion revenue, or an 8 percent income growth; 142,177 workers, or an employment increase of 2.31 percent; 1,737 business locators; and P17.29-billion new investments that topped the 2020 record by P15.74 billion or 1,011 percent.

This was the second time that Eisma received a Stevie award. In 2018, a year after becoming SBMA’s first female CEO, Eisma also won a silver Stevie as “Female Executive of the Year for Government or Non-profit” under the individual women awards category.

Meanwhile, she also received a bronze Stevie for the SBMA for “Organization of the Year” under the category for government or non-profit with more than 10 employees.

Eisma felt “humbled and honored” with the recent recognition and expressed her gratitude to the public for their continuing support, she said in a social media post.

The winners in the 2023 Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards were announced last week from more than 800 nominations for innovative achievements in the 29-nation Asia-Pacific region.

Gold, silver, and bronze Stevie Award winners were determined by the average scores of more than 150 professionals around the world, organizers said.

The “Stevies,” which is considered as the business equivalent of the Oscars, is given annually by the American Business Awards organization to recognize accomplishments and contributions of companies and business people around the world.

The winners will be celebrated at a virtual ceremony on June 27. (MPD-SBMA) 

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Subic Freeport remains No. 1 tourist destination in Central Luzon, No. 5 in country despite pandemic

This bustling premier Freeport has again sustained its reputation as the top tourist destination in Central Luzon, and 5^th in the entire country for 2021.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Tourism department manager Jem Camba disclosed that the Department of Tourism (DOT) conferred the Subic Bay Freeport as the number one tourist destination in Central Luzon with 7,374,332 visitors and 737,486 tourists for the year 2021, while also ranking fifth among the most visited places in the country.

“We have established and followed strict health and safety protocols since the pandemic broke, because we had to ensure the safety of guests entering the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. So that we could promote Subic Freeport as a safe destination for tourists, with the strict adherence to the health and safety guidelines set by the national government,” Camba said.

She added that during the second year under the pandemic, the tourism industry of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone continued to thrive via digital marketing, online business-to-business meetings, and travel fairs, not to mention creating QR codes for easy access of information regarding tourism and health and safety guidelines being implemented here.

It was also during this time of the pandemic when bubble events boomed, which was usually used in the sports tourism industry such as the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League, FilBasket, and beach volleyball. The Freeport was also the place to go for locked-in tapings as it became the venue for film shoots.

Camba said that the agency assures that the hotels and other tourism-related establishments complied with the health and safety standards set by the national government, as weekly inspections of the area are being conducted by the agency on their compliance.

“We also utilized some of these hotels for either quarantine, leisure or mixed-use purposes. The quarantine hotels are areas where repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and non-OFWs stay upon arrival at the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA),” she said.

She assured that almost all of the employees of these hotels have already been vaccinated to ensure the safety of their guests; other tourism-related establishments such as restaurants and theme parts have also followed suit.

Meanwhile, the Subic’s tourism industry has a positive outlook for 2022 as more sports tourism events have resumed here. Recently, the SBMA played host to sports tourism events such as the 2022 Subic Bay International Triathlon, Audax Ride, FRIKE: Mountain Bike Fun Race, and the 2022 Rally Sprint Series Round 1.

Events such as the EZ Mil Panalo Homecoming Tour, Gold’s Gym Muscle Contest, Pickleball National Tournament, Subic Bay Ironkids, Subic Bay 5150, and the continuation of the 2022 Rally Sprint Series will draw more tourists before the end of the year.

“Aside from these events, the SBMA will resume its cruise ship arrivals by next year. Companies such as the Royal Caribbean have already confirmed their arrival for 2023,” Camba said.

With all the upcoming activities, Camba also expressed hope for more tourism-related businesses to make it happen in the Philippines, particularly in Subic Freeport. (MPD-SBMA) 

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SBMA launches Mobile Vaccination Drive

In its effort to provide the community better access to Covid-19 vaccines, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) thru the Office of the Deputy Administrator (ODA) for Health and Safety launched the Mobile Vaccination Drive.

“This is in accordance with the directive from the Department of Health (DOH) to see to it that everyone has access to Covid-19 vaccines in our community,” said SBMA OIC-DA for Health and Safety Ronnie Yambao.

This came after a meeting with the Asst. Regional Director D. Lailani Mangulabnan of the Central Luzon Center for Health Development and the Provincial Department of Health Office of Zambales Dr. Jessie Fantone, and will be executed by the SBMA Public Health and Safety Department (PHSD).

The SBMA Mobile Vaccination Drive will be at the Binictican Housing area beside Gobstopper Convenience Store on April 13 (Wednesday) from 9am to 12nn to render vaccination service to residents nearby for their first dose, second dose or booster dose.

On April 22 (Friday), the SBMA PHSD team will be at the SBMA Day Care Center from 9am to 12nn for SBMA employees who wish to be vaccinated without having to go far from their offices.

Also, the DOH-SBMA vaccination program will still be on their regular schedule from 10am to 4pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, except this Good Friday.

However, according to PHSD, their vaccination site has moved a little farther from the Activity Center to the hallway near HMR at the Harbor Point Ayala Mall, to give way to the summer activities of the mall.

Currently, the SBMA workforce is at 69 percent boosted, while a little short of 100 percent vaccinated with primary doses.

The PHSD also reported that they have already administered 30,162 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine since May 2021. (MPD-SBMA)

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Subic Freeport Covid-19 cases drop to zero

The number of active Covid-19 cases in this special economic zone plunged to zero on Wednesday, February 9, after surging for three weeks in January when health authorities confirmed nationwide transmission of the Omicron variant.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said there was not any new case of Covid-19 here since then for both Subic Freeport residents and transient workers or guests, although two active cases remained among SBMA employees.

“This is a good sign. It looks like the Omicron surge has peaked last month, and that our vaccination program is really helping to arrest local infection,” Eisma said.

“Still, there is no reason to put our guards down. We must continue observing health protocols because this is the surest way out of the pandemic,” she added.

Data released by the SBMA on Wednesday showed that 39 residents of the Subic Bay Freeport, 14 transient workers, and 27 SBMA employees recently recovered from Covid-19 infection after quarantine and treatment, leading to the lowest case record in more than a month.

Said recovered residents tested positive between January 19 and February 1, while the recovered guest workers were infected between January 23 and January 21.

The SBMA employees, meanwhile, tested positive between January 23 and 31. The SBMA continues to monitor cases among its employees and reports on them even when these properly fall under the care of local government units where the employees reside, Eisma explained.

Dr. Solomon Jacalne, who heads the SBMA Public Health and Safety Department (PHSD), said the surge in Covid-19 cases here was consistent with Department of Health (DOH) findings that community transmission of the highly-infectious Omicron variant began in the second week of January.

“According to the DOH, 80% of the cases now are caused by the Omicron variant,” Jacalne said. “Again, this was consistent with our monitoring reports that those infected in Subic either travelled outside of the Freeport, or had some visitors coming in during the holidays,” he added.

PHSD monitoring indicated that the active cases began rising on January 1 when six Subic residents tested positive of the virus. By January 9, 36 residents were infected, and by January 18 a total of 78 active cases was recorded.

Among transient workers, meanwhile, the tally climbed from zero cases in January 1, to nine cases on January 9, and 17 cases on January 18.

Fortunately, most of those who fell ill only had mild symptoms and only four patients were admitted to the hospital, Jacalne said.

The cases began to taper off in the last week of January, dropping to only 27 active cases among residents as of January 28. At the same time, there were just 11 active cases among transient workers, and six among SBMA employees.

The total confirmed Covid-19 cases in Subic now stand at 421 for residents, 175 for transients, and 233 for SBMA employees. Meanwhile, the SBMA has recorded a total of 417 recoveries for Freeport residents, 171 for transients, and 224 for SBMA employees.

Despite the continuing downtrend, Jacalne also said that Subic stakeholders still need to continue with strict health protocols, and do only essential travel. “We cannot yet say that we’re at the end of a surge,” he added.

The SBMA, in partnership with the DOH, continues to roll out vaccines to residents, including those from outside the Freeport zone, with priority given to senior citizens for both basic and booster shots. (MPD-SBMA)

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SBMA gets tourism award for best pandemic practices

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has placed among the top 12 finalists in the award for “Best in Tourism Practice During the Pandemic” during the 22nd National Convention of the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines (ATOP).

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the Subic agency was recognized for its Covid-19 safety protocols that brought about a safe environment for “bubble” events in the Subic Bay Freeport in the past two years.

“This is only proof that the restrictions and safety standards that we practice like wearing masks, social distancing, disinfecting and most importantly the continuous vaccination of our stakeholders, are all working in ensuring the safety of our visitors,” Eisma said on Wednesday.

“Again, this only shows that our efforts in battling Covid-19 are paying off. Tourists and visitors feel safer to travel in Subic because we have kept our Covid cases low compared to other travel destinations,” she added.

Eisma also thanked ATOP and the Department of Tourism for recognizing the continuing efforts of the SBMA in keeping the Freeport safe not only tourists and visitors, but for business stakeholders as well.

The “Best in Tourism Practice During the Pandemic” award was given as a special category to highlight innovative tourism activities, as main or support operations to the safety of the community, during the times of Covid-19 pandemic. The SBMA competed for the award along with 32 other government agencies and local government units.

The tourism industry was considered the hardest-hit sector during the pandemic, thus necessitating resilient practices among stakeholders to sustain growth.

In the Subic Bay area, Eisma said the SBMA was the first to impose temperature scans at the onset of the pandemic, as well as strict entry protocols during lockdowns and high alert levels. Later on, it initiated a vaccination program for Freeport residents and workers to help keep Covid-19 infections at bay.

“In the course of implementing strict healthy safety practices, Subic became known as a safe haven for various sports events and conferences under the bubble concept,” Eisma pointed out.

“By placing premium on safety, we succeeded in attracting more business and find more opportunities to sustain the local economy,” she added.

SBMA records indicated that despite the ongoing pandemic and the resulting travel restrictions, the Subic Bay Freeport recorded an increase in same-day visitor arrivals by as much as 42% since the 2020 lockdown.

Tourist arrivals meanwhile increased by 141% while hotel occupancy almost doubled in number in 2021 compared to 2020 figures.

Eisma also credited the government’s crew-change and repatriation programs that made Subic a busy hub for the processing of incoming and outgoing seafarers, as well as overseas workers and other Filipinos arriving from abroad.

She said these programs saved the tourism industry in Subic amid pandemic travel restrictions. (MPD-SBMA)

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Subic ensures visitor safety with strict hotel protocols

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) is now enforcing stricter safety protocols to ensure the health and safety of visitors to the Subic Bay Freeport amid the recent surge in Covid-19 infections.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said hotels and accommodation facilities here will now require guests to present negative results for Covid-19 antigen tests taken in the past 24 hours or RT-PCR tests released 48 hours prior to check-in.

The new requirement was made effective Monday, January 24, following Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) guidelines placing the surrounding areas of Zambales, Olongapo City, and Bataan under Alert Level 3 on January 6, Eisma said.

“While interzonal travel is allowed under Alert Level 3, we want to take the extra step in ensuring the health and safety of, not only our visitors in the Freeport, but also our local businesses, workers, and stakeholders,” Eisma said.

She added that the SBMA is also checking for vaccination cards among visitors entering the Freeport and required negative RT-PCR test results for the unvaccinated.  

Previous Alert Level 3 guidelines from the IATF did not require antigen or RT-PCR tests for interzonal travel except when required by establishments or event organizers. “However, because of the recent surge in Covid-19 infections, there is a need for us to enforce stricter measures for the sake of both visitors and locals, and to keep Subic businesses going,” Eisma stressed.

Recently, Olongapo City, which provides most of the workers in the Subic Bay Freeport, was named as one of the cities with the highest rate of Covid-19 infections. The Subic Freeport, meanwhile, logged 78 active cases for SBFZ residents and 17 for Freeport transient workers and guests as of January 18.

“This is why we have to be more vigilant, and why we should not relax our guard,” Eisma explained.

Along with the hotel requirements, the SBMA also reminded Subic business locators and stakeholders to report possible cases of Covid-19 to the SBMA Public Health and Safety Department, pointing out that failure to do so shall be grounds for the cancellation of their certificates of registration.

Eisma said that under Republic Act 11332, or the “Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act,” persons and entities who will not report Covid-19 cases or respond to Covid-19 health events may be fined from P20,000 to P50,000.

Business establishments in the Freeport were also required to announce to the public if they have been temporarily closed because of any recently confirmed Covid-19 case in their premises, she added.

Eisma said that both the SBMA and neighboring local government units have been increasing their target vaccinations and booster rollout to keep Covid-19 cases low and not overwhelm the healthcare system. “As the SBMA and neighbor-LGUs have proven well in the past, we are stronger together in every common undertaking,” she said.

She added that while the SBMA is not an LGU, it has initiated a vaccine drive primarily for Freeport employees, health workers, and residents. “At the end of the day, we can only beat Covid-19 if we practice malasakit and help each other,” she said.

The Subic chief also reminded the general public that while restrictions are in place, the Subic Bay Freeport Zone is still very much open to everyone and will continue to be the premier business hub in this part of the country.

“As long as we follow the minimum health and safety standards like always wearing mask, keeping safe distance, frequent handwashing or disinfection, and, of course, getting vaccinated, we will get over this new surge as we have had before,” Eisma said. (MPD-SBMA)

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SBMA now requires vaccination cards for Subic entry

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) on Monday began checking for vaccination cards among persons entering the Subic Bay Freeport to prevent further transmission of Covid-19 in the area and maintain the health and safety of stakeholders in this vital economic zone.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said this is just one of the stricter measures implemented by the Subic agency after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) placed Olongapo City, along with Zambales, Bataan and 11 other areas in the country, under Alert Level 3 late last week.

Under the new SBMA guidelines, interzonal travel and intrazonal movement are allowed in Subic upon presentation of vaccination certificate showing completed doses. Meanwhile, unvaccinated persons would have to show negative RT-PCR test results taken with 24 hours prior to arrival in Subic, Eisma said.

Subic, which boasted of zero Covid-19 cases among its residents until Christmas day, had reported a total of 36 active cases just after the holidays.

“The rate of increase—36 cases in just two weeks—is quite alarming, so in consonance with IATF resolutions, we have put in place stricter border controls and prohibited certain activities that could further spread the virus,” Eisma said on Monday.

“I have ordered our law enforcement officers to be thorough in checking for vaccination cards at the gates because we cannot afford another lockdown that would curtail business and industry in Subic. We have to be strict because we have to keep the local economy running, too,” she added.

Eisma said the SBMA has considered interzonal travel as high risk because eight of the recent Covid-19 cases in the Freeport involved residents who reported travel to Metro Manila, while five said having visited other areas outside of the Freeport.

She added that monitoring by the SBMA Public Health and Safety Department showed that these 13 travelers had, in turn, transmitted the virus to 12 close contacts. Still two others were infected after receiving visitors from outside Subic.

Eisma said that aside from requiring vaccination cards at the gates, the SBMA also limited the access of some public areas only to fully-vaccinated individuals. These include venues for meetings and social events, amusement parks and recreation venues, visitor or tourist attractions, venues for in-person religious gatherings, as well as restaurants, and gyms and personal care shops, which should all take in customers at 30% of their indoor capacity and 50% for outdoors.

Unvaccinated persons, however, may be allowed in supermarkets and groceries where 30% maximum capacity should be maintained, and inside malls but “only for the purpose of accessing essential goods and services,” the SBMA chief said.

At the same time, the SBMA allowed 70% maximum capacity for public transportation; 30% indoor capacity for face-to-face classes in higher schools; and 60% on-site capacity for government offices.

Meanwhile, the SBMA prohibited the operation of karaoke bars, indoor entertainment venues, kid amusement places, and venues for contact sports except in bubble-type setup.

Eisma said the Subic agency will enforce other measures that will arrest the current surge of Covid-19 cases in the greater Subic Bay area while encouraging stakeholders to get vaccinated for either basic doses or booster shots.

“We intend to contain this upsurge with vaccines and sound science behind basic safety protocols like masking, handwashing and social distancing,” Eisma added. (MPD-SBMA)

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SBMA earns P65.73M from crew-change program

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has generated a total of P65.73 million in income from participating in the government’s crew-change program that facilitated the safe and speedy travel of Filipino and foreign seafarers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the additional revenue was realized after 16 months of processing seafarers following the designation of the Subic Bay Freeport as a crew-change hub in September 2020.

The total income came from the P14.64 million that was earned from September to December 2020, and the P51.09 million that was collected in the 12 months last year.

Eisma pointed out this did not include income earned by local hotels and other tourism-related businesses that provided quarantine rooms and other services for the disembarked seamen.

“The P65.7-million income is an additional windfall that SBMA earned by banking on Subic’s strict enforcement of health safety protocols,” Eisma noted.

“And it was realized after Subic took the opportunity—despite initial disapproval by some neighboring LGUs—to provide much-needed service at a time when only a few ports wanted to take in seafarers because of the virus threat,” she added.

Eisma said that the SBMA decided favorably on the crew-change project because it would not only bring crewmen home to their families, but would also help unlock congestion in ports and reboot the global supply chain that has been heavily impacted by the pandemic.

According to the SBMA Seaport Department, a total of 254 crew-change operations were undertaken in Subic in the 16 months since September 2020. These involved 62 vessels in 2020 and 192 ships in 2021.

On the average, around 12 to 15 ships arrive in Subic each month for crew change, said Seaport general manager Jerome Martinez. But on busy times as many as 25 ships could call in Subic in a month, as they did in June last year, or even 33 as they did last November.

The ships arrive either to take in new on-signers to refresh the crew, or disembark off-signers who must go on vacation or visit their families.

Martinez said that in the last 16 months, the port of Subic was able to process a total of 2,001 on-signers, of which 1,931 were Filipinos and 70 were foreigners of various nationalities.

At the same time, a total of 1,927 off-signers came onshore through Subic. These included 1,743 Filipinos and 184 foreigners, Martinez said.

The seafarers arrived in all kinds of ships like the MT Dapeng Star, a liquified natural gas tanker which was the first vessel to call in Subic under the crew-change program; MV Mindoro, a Panama-flagged vehicles carrier; MT Jason, a chemical tanker from Marshall Islands; MT Euro Integrity, a Liberian-flagged crude oil tanker; MV Nine Eagle, a Panama-flagged livestock carrier; and CS Cable Retriever, a dredging and cable-laying ship based in Singapore.

Aside from Subic and the Manila South Harbor, the other designated crew-change hubs in the country are in the port of Batangas, Port of Cebu, Port Capinpin in Orion, Bataan and Port of Sasa in Davao.

Under the crew change program, disembarking seafarers have to quarantine in facilities designated under the One Stop Shop (OSS) for Seafarers until testing negative in RT-PCR Covid-19 test which is taken on the sixth day after arrival. (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 opts for virtual Christmas party, cancels New Year countdown

To ensure the health and safety of its personnel, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has decided to forego its usual face-to-face Christmas party this year and will instead have a virtual yearend thanksgiving program this Friday, Dec. 17.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the agency has prohibited face-to-face gatherings in all SBMA offices and facilities and disallowed events that would gather crowds in the Freeport because of the continuing danger from the Covid-19 virus and its emerging variants.

By the same reason, the Subic agency won’t hold a New Year countdown, cancelling this year a popular event that usually draws crowds of revelers from the Subic Bay area, as well as neighboring provinces and Metro Manila.

“This is the prudent decision by the SBMA because the virus is still here amidst us. The rate of infection may have gone down recently, but we cannot be complacent and fully open up Subic now because we cannot afford to have another surge just like they’re having in other countries,” Eisma said.

“While we respect the individual rights of SBMA employees and other Subic stakeholders to organize or attend gatherings this holiday season, we cannot yet allow these events in SBMA facilities. We also call on everyone to observe minimum public health standards wherever they may have their Christmas parties or yearend activities,” she added.

To spice up the virtual program, SBMA officials and employees will make video presentations and participate in online contests, Eisma added.

According to Jennifer Guiang, chief of the SBMA Board of Directors staff and head organizer of the virtual program, the SBMA yearend thanksgiving event will have a carnival theme. It will be held from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm on Dec. 17.

Guiang added that there will be three competitions to be held during the program.

These are “Our SBU Story,” a video contest on depicting the stories and accomplishments of the agency’s various strategic business units (SBUs); “SBMA Patiktok,” which should be a one-minute dance interpretation of any Christmas song; and the “SBMA Star of Thanksgiving,” which shall showcase the Subic Bay virtual carnival theme.

The overall winner shall be chose based on submissions for the three contests, Guiang said. (MPD-SBMA) 

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Bureau of Quarantine opens Subic satellite office

The Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) formally opened its satellite office in the Subic Bay Freeport on Tuesday in response to a growing demand for International Certificates of Vaccination (ICVs) or “yellow cards” that are required for travel to other countries. 

Dr. Joseph Macaraeg, BOQ Subic chief, said the agency has collaborated with the Harbor Point Ayala Mall here to set up their Subic satellite office here, thus decongesting three other offices in Manila.

The Subic satellite office is the first in Central Luzon and the fourth in the country, he added.

Macaraeg said there is a growing number of applicants for yellow cards now that Subic has become a busy entry and departure point for both the crew change and OFW repatriation programs of the government.

“Before, we were only getting 30 to 50 applications per day, now we’re handling around 300 applications,” he said.

It might be recalled that the BOQ began its satellite operations here on September 10 in response to a clamor from Subic Bay Freeport residents, as well as other stakeholders from the neighboring communities of Olongapo City, Zambales, and Bataan, said Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Wilma T. Eisma.

Macaraeg said that the Subic BOQ office will make it easier for residents to get their ICVs, pointing out that customers need only register online, pay through online banking or payment schemes, and then wait for their schedule at the satellite office.

The yellow cards are released after screening and validation of the individual applicant’s information. “Once they have their appointment, all they have to do is present their receipt of online payment in order to receive their ICVs or yellow cards from the BOQ personnel stationed there,” Macaraeg said.

The Subic BOQ satellite office was officially launched by Macaraeg, Dr. Roberto Salvador Jr., who is deputy director, and Dr. Howard Lazo, along with Harbor Point general manager Engr. Lesly Manalo, and Harbor Point finance manager Renee Rose Layug.

Salvador said that the bureau has already issued more than 5,000 ICVs in the country, adding that with the new satellite office here in Subic Freeport, the BOQ can serve more Filipinos in the country.

The ICV or “yellow card” records the required vaccinations administered on an individual prior to travel abroad. Depending on the destination, the mandatory inoculations included those for yellow fever, typhoid, and now for SARS-COV2 or the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

The document, which also contains the holder’s passport number aside from vaccination details, is recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO).

BOQ personnel said the office only accepts applicants who booked their appointment online to minimize contact as part of the bureau’s health and safety protocols.

Applicants may book BOQ online appointment at www.icv.boq.ph. (MPD-SBMA)

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Subic OFW flights now cover Diego Garcia

Repatriation flights by Philippine Airlines (PAL) for Filipinos working overseas now cover Diego Garcia, an island military outpost in the Indian Ocean where hundreds of Filipino contract workers are employed.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the first PAL flight from Diego Garcia to Subic arrived here on Monday, Dec. 13, after the Philippine flag carrier decided to expand it “Bayanihan” flights to bring home more overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in time for the holidays.

The OFW flights via the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA) began last July under the government’s repatriation program to assist Filipinos stranded abroad because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“With this, Subic is now connected to 10 cities and major destinations in the Indo-Pacific area. We are now the gateway for OFWs coming from the Middle East, as well as Asian ports,” said Eisma.

The areas with PAL connections to Subic include Riyadh and Dammam in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, Doha in Qatar, Macau, Palau, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, and now Diego Garcia.

SBMA Senior Deputy Administrator for Operations Ronnie Yambao said the latest PAL flight brought to Subic a total of 303 passengers, who are mostly contract workers from Diego Garcia.

One of them was Oscar Ebalan, a native of Masinloc, Zambales, who arrived with his son Aldean, also a contract worker employed by KBR Diego Garcia LLC, a military contractor which provides operations, maintenance, and logistics services in the island.

Ebalan said the OFW flight from Diego Garcia to Subic took more than seven hours non-stop, a more difficult long haul compared to the usual flights that normally made a brief stopover at Singapore.

“But we arrived safe and OK, and the arrival procedures at Subic went smoothly,” he said, adding that they expect to be home after the mandatory quarantine and the requisite RT-PCR test five days upon arrival here.

Eisma said the SBMA expects more OFW flights via Subic before the yearend, but stressed that none of these would originate from countries that the Philippine government has placed on its red list in view of the emergence of the Omicron virus variant.

“We can be assured that no passengers will be brought here from any red-listed country because the government has prohibited the inbound international travel of all persons from red-list areas regardless of vaccination status,” Eisma said.

Prior to flight from Diego Garcia, the Subic airport also received arrivals from Dubai—a total of 280 passengers on Dec. 10, and 269 passengers on Dec. 12, said SBMA airport manager Zharrex Santos.

The recent flights brought the number of OFW flights to Subic since July at a total of 45, with a total of 12,262 passengers processed at the SBIA, Santos also said. (MPD-SBMA)

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Subic school resumes face-to-face classes

The Manila Times College (TMTC) in this Freeport has received the go signal from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to resume face-to-face classes here, becoming the only tertiary-level school in Central Luzon to be granted such a permit so far.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the Subic school has complied with all the necessary requirements issued by CHED to resume in-person classes at the former George Dewey High School campus here.

Eisma, along with CHED Regional Director Dr. Maria Teresita M. Semana, first inspected the TMTC campus facilities before the school was allowed to bring students back to the classrooms.

“We want to ensure that the educational facility is safe and free from Covid-19. We all want to go back to our normal lives after this pandemic, and it is certainly difficult for students to study remotely without any hands-on learning,” Eisma said.

She said the SBMA worked hand-in-hand with the TMTC to ensure that all the requirements set by the CHED were complied with.

The SBMA official also visited the TMTC campus on Monday to witness the start of the first face-to-face classes here under the continuing Covid-19 pandemic and said the school had passed the grade.

“To start with, The Manila Times College Subic has a very good teacher-student ratio, so it’s not that difficult to adopt the health safety protocols,” Eisma pointed out.

“I’m glad that face-to-face classes are already allowed here in Subic, and this further boosts Subic’s hard-earned reputation as a safe haven for both business and leisure,” she added.

The Manila Times College Subic, which offers mostly medicine-related programs, is by far the only tertiary-level school in Central Luzon to be granted a permit by the Commission on Higher Education for limited in-person classes.

Last month, the national government allowed limited in-person classes in 118 participating schools with about 7,000 learners across the country. These included seven schools in remote communities in Zambales.

Last Monday, the Department of Education (DepEd) said an additional 174 schools started face-to-face classes as part of the second batch of the pilot program.

 CHED Chairman Prospero de Vera III said that for colleges and universities to have limited face-to-face classes, they should follow guidelines on minimum health standards, have high vaccination rate among students and faculty, secure approval from local government units, and should retrofit their facilities.

The schools that were allowed limited face-to-face classes should have curriculums that offer program in medical and allied fields, engineering and technology, hospitality/hotel and restaurant management, tourism/travel management, and marine engineering and marine transportation. (MPD-SBMA)

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OFW repatriation flights continue via Subic Freeport

Philippine Airlines (PAL) flights to the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA) under the government’s repatriation program for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will continue here until the yearend even as travel curbs were imposed by some countries to stem the spread of the latest Covid-19 variant Omicron.

For the first time on Sunday, two PAL aircraft arrived here within two hours of each other to bring home two more batches of OFWs from Abu Dhabi and Dubai, both cities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The recent arrivals brought the OFW flights via Subic to a total of 42 and the passengers coming in through the Subic airport since July this year to a total of 11,410.

“The OFWs continue to be repatriated through Subic, and everything’s as normal as when the program started here in July,” Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Wilma T. Eisma said on Sunday.

“We can be assured that no passengers will be brought here from any red-listed country because the government has prohibited the inbound international travel of all persons from red-list areas regardless of vaccination status,” Eisma added.

The Philippines’ Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) had earlier placed South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Eswatini and Mozambique on the red list after the Omicron variant was identified in South Africa last November 25.

But as the variant was discovered in Europe days after, the IATF added to its list Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy effective November 28 until December 15.

The government had earlier said it planned to suspend measures to relax entry for vaccinated tourists because of the emergence of the Omicron variant, but the Department of Health (DOH) said on Saturday that there was no reason to panic over the Omicron as there has been no sudden increase or clustering of cases lately.

Eisma also pointed out that the OFW repatriation program here is being handled carefully by the Department of Transportation, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, and Bureau of Quarantine.

“We all see to it that IATF guidelines on health safety are strictly enforced while the repatriation program continues here,” she added.

According to SBMA Senior Deputy Administrator for Operations Ronnie Yambao, more PAL flights are expected this month because of the holiday season.

He said 10 OFW flights from the UAE were scheduled in Subic this December: the first on December 3 followed by two on December 5; then on

December 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, 26, and 31.

So far, a total of 42 OFW flights had brought in 11,410 passengers, including returning overseas Filipinos, to the Subic Bay Freeport, said SBIA manager Zharrex Santos.

These included six flights in July, seven in August, 10 in September, five in October, 11 in November, and three so far in December, Santos said.

Upon arrival in Subic, OFWs and other returning Filipinos are required to stay in Subic hotels for a BOQ-supervised quarantine of up to 10 days. (MPD-SBMA)

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Long queues in Subic Freeport for ‘Bayanihan Bakunahan’ vaccine project

Hundreds of residents from neighboring areas of the Subic Bay Freeport braved long lines at the Ayala Mall Harbor Point here to get vaccinated against Covid-19 on Monday, the first day of the government’s three-day “Bayanihan Bakunahan” national vaccination program.

Among those who waited patiently for the vaccination to start at 8 a.m. was Jovelyn Merced, an employee of Datian Subic Shoes, Inc., who said she has queued as early as 5 a.m. to be sure she would get the vaccine shot that day.

“It’s just now that I registered for the Covid-19 vaccine because I didn’t want to miss work before,” Merced explained. “It’s a good thing they declared a holiday for this, and that somebody assisted us in registering while we’re already lining up.”

Also in the queue was Red Cross worker Eduardo Buena of Olongapo City, who brought along his three teenaged children for the vaccine rollout. “We have long wanted to have the kids vaccinated, so we are here to take advantage of this government program,” Buena said.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said a total of 784 persons were vaccinated in the first day of the rollout that targeted Freeport residents and workers, including those who are seniors or with comorbidities, as well as children aged 12 to 17 years.

“We are ready to double our usual number of vaccine recipients in the next two days and we will accommodate anyone, including walk-ins, just as long as they’re registered at the SBMA-Department of Health (DOH) vaccination program website,” she added.

Eisma said two vaccination sites were set up here for the three-day “Bayanihan Bakunahan” national vaccination program: the Ayala Mall Harbor Point activity center and the Allied Care Baypointe Hospital.

The vaccines available for this rollout are Pfizer and Astra Zeneca brands, as we’ll as Sinovac for second doses of those who have earlier received Sinovac shots.

Dr. Solomon Jacalne, head of the SBMA Public Health and Safety Department (PHSD), said that government targets for the three-day program have been actually increased to double the usual goal of 700 inoculations per day.

He said some members of the Olongapo Medical Society arrived to help SBMA health workers administer the shots so that the target number of doses can be completed.

“We’ll give the shots to everyone—seniors and children, those for their first dose or second dose, as long as they’re registered,” Jacalne added.

The SBMA will also open a drive-through vaccination site on Wednesday at the west wing entrance of Ayala Mall Harbor Point to provide shots to Subic stakeholders who cannot walk to the indoor vaccination site, said SBMA Senior Deputy Administrator for Operations Ronnie Yambao.

The government’s three-day vaccine campaign dubbed as “Bayanihan Bakunahan: Ligtas. Lakas. Buong Pinas” was designed to increase vaccine coverage and mobilize stakeholders to support the national government’s goal of giving Filipinos a safe and healthy Christmas, the DOH said in a statement.

Prior to the three-day national vaccination project, the SBMA has administered a total of 13,063 doses of various Covid-19 vaccines under the SBMA-DOH vaccine program. These included a total of 5,841 doses for economic frontliners in the Subic Freeport, and 3,962 doses for those with comorbidities.

The beneficiaries came from Olongapo City, which received a total of 8,138 doses; Subic Bay Freeport, with 1,937 doses; Zambales, 1,653; and communities outside Zambales, 1,335 doses. (MPD-SBMA)

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