Subic crew-change hub begins operations

Subic started operations as a crew-change hub on Thursday, September 10, with the arrival here of five Filipino seafarers who finally disembarked after being stranded aboard their ship for several months due to port restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said this was the first batch of crewmen to arrive here after Subic was designated by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) as a hub for international crew change.

The five Filipinos disembarked from MV Dapeng Star, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker based in Hong Kong.

“The operation went without a hitch and was over in just a matter of three hours,” Eisma said. She recounted that at 7:40 a.m., a tugboat left the San Bernardino jetty here to meet up with Dapeng Star, which had anchored near Grande Island at the mouth of Subic Bay.

The tugboat carried personnel from the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) and the Coast Guard, who conducted the initial health check-up of the inbound seafarers and had them suited up in personal protective equipment (PPE) prior to disembarkation.

“At 10 a.m. the tugboat was back at the jetty, the five seafarers in blue PPEs got off, had their baggage checked by K-9, boarded a van to the One-Stop-Shop (OSS) at the Subic airport where they got swabbed for RT-PCR test and had their documents processed by the Bureau of Quarantine and Bureau of Immigration,” Eisma noted.

“At exactly 11:14 a.m., or just over three hours, the seafarers were already departing for the Manila Grand Opera Hotel, which shall serve as their quarantine facility for 14 days,” she added.

The opening of the Subic crew-change hub is expected to ease the current congestion in Manila Bay where merchant ships with Filipino crewmen await their turn to disembark their crew and take in fresh personnel. The Philippines is among the biggest suppliers of manpower in the shipping industry today.

Eisma pointed out that the problem on crew-change does not only concern crewmen longing to go home to their families, or the congested ports where ships await their turn to disembark their crew.

“It is, in fact, a problem of huge proportion because it affects the global supply chain,” she said. “With the start of crew-change operations here, Subic becomes a part of the solution to this global problem,” she added.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr), which spearheads the inter-agency project, said the Subic operation is part of the “Philippine Green Lane” put up for the speedy and safe travel of seafarers and swift crew change during the Covid-19 pandemic. The other crew-change hubs are the Port of Manila and Port Capinpin in Bataan.

Subic was designated as a crew change hub in July, and was formally opened on August 22. However, operations here only involve point-to-point embarkation and disembarkation pending approval of the second phase where inbound seafarers could quarantine in local hotels after their RT-PCR test.

DOTr Assistant Secretary Narciso Vingson, who supervised the maiden crew-change operation in Subic, stressed that crew-change protocols were strictly observed and that a “no-contact” policy was put in place to ensure the safety of the seafarers and the attending personnel.

Vingson said that prior to debarkation, the seafarers were made to undergo customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) procedures on board the ship. Thereafter, they were debriefed, RT-PCR tested and processed at the Subic OSS, before transported to a mandatory quarantine facility in Manila.  (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

[1] Filipino crewmen disembark from the LNG tanker Dapeng Star anchored on Subic Bay during the first crew-change operation in the Subic Bay Freeport on Thursday, Sept. 10

[2] Disembarked Filipino seafarers arrive at the San Bernardino jetty during the first crew-change operation in the Subic Bay Freeport on Thursday, Sept. 10

[3] A newly-disembarked Filipino seafarer gives the thumbs up during the first crew-change operation in the Subic Bay Freeport on Thursday, Sept. 10

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SBMA firemen take risks in fight vs. Covid-19

From putting out blazes, catching snakes and stray animals, and responding to disasters, the SBMA Fire Department has now switched mostly to fighting an unusual enemy that could not be seen: Covid-19.

While fighting with sprayers carried on backpacks to disinfect facilities had not diminished the team’s fire suppression capacity, it too had not reduced the dangers these frontline workers face every day on the job.

The new mission is all part of a contingency plan that was hatched when the cruise ship World Dream with close to 800 tourists from China was stopped from docking in Subic last January when the new coronavirus began spreading worldwide, said SBMA fire chief Ranny Magno.

“We needed to be proactive; it’s the way risk managers should think, and that is embedded in the SBMA culture,” Magno said. “So we started preparation and planning.”

The preparation involved training on disinfection and decontamination procedures, orientation on the new coronavirus, and the actual purchase of hazardous materials (HAZMAT) suits, personal protective equipment (PPEs), and three backpack sprayers.

For disinfectant and decontaminant solutions, Magno said the Subic firefighters used chlorine granules (calcium hypochlorite) mixed with clean water, an ingenuity they practiced here months before the Department of Health (DOH) officially endorsed chlorine solution as effective against Covid-19.

These came in handy when SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma ordered the disinfection of all SBMA offices, especially those frequented by clients, in order to ensure health and safety in the Freeport while keeping the local economy running.

SBMA’s disinfection program began on March 14, two days before the declaration of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), and the first to be sanitized was the Pass and ID office where there were always some queues for customers.

Soon, some stakeholders got involved and chipped in: two hotels with huge swimming pools donated chlorine granules from their stocks. A Filipino who retired from the US Marine gave two units of backpack sprayers.

Since then and until June 30, the SBMA Fire Department had decontaminated a total of 110 buildings and offices, including 34 SBMA facilities.

At the same time, the Fire Prevention Division of the SBMA Fire Department switched from its usual lecture on fire control and instead performed orientation and inspection of Covid-19 health protocols in in locator companies that were allowed to operate during the quarantine.

Under this task, the fire team managed to inspect the implementation of safety protocols, including measures for social distancing, in a total of 936 companies from May to August.

“One thing we learned during this pandemic was that every step must be precise; there’s no margin for error because lives are at stake here,” Magno said. “It is a hard task for us because we are all exposed to the virus.”

Magno noted that one SBMA fireman had recently been infected after decontamination of the Subic container terminal where 45 workers had tested positive of Covid-19.  He said the firefighter, who remains asymptomatic, has been quarantined at an SBMA isolation facility and is doing well.

“We know the risks of our job. We understand that we could be infected anytime. But we have to do our job to protect our locators and stakeholders,” Magno said.

Right now, as the SBMA management considers giving the disinfection job to its maintenance unit, the tactical objective of the Fire Department would be to train locator-companies on the proper procedures for disinfection. 

“To be safe, we have to be resilient by seeing to it that our area is free from virus. But each and every one of us—the stakeholders— should be resilient so that the whole community could be resilient,” Magno added. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTO:

Using sprayers and fire nozzles, SBMA firemen disinfect facilities in the Subic Bay Freeport to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus

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SBMA offers Subic gym for isolation of SBITC workers

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has offered its community isolation facility at the Subic gymnasium for the care and isolation of workers at the Subic container terminal who had tested positive of the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said she sounded this off in a meeting on Wednesday with officials of the Department of Health (DOH), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Subic Bay International Terminal Corporation (SBITC) to defuse the health crisis at the Subic container port where the latest tally placed 29 workers having tested positive.

Eisma said the major concerns raised in the meeting included the home quarantine of Covid-positive workers who are either asymptomatic or have only mild symptoms, and the tracing of contacts in the community where workers live.

“In this situation where we have a rising number of Covid-19 cases among workers in one area at the Freeport, it would be best to quarantine the infected workers in a proper isolation facility, rather than send them home to self-quarantine,” Eisma pointed out.

“This is a situation that could blow bigger, but by isolating those who tested positive, we can help arrest local transmission. Otherwise, the contagion would spread and may get out of hand. We don’t want that to happen,” she added.

The Covid-19 outbreak at the SBITC container terminal was detected last week when a total of 15 cases were initially recorded after a worker from Olongapo City, who had no history of travel to any high-risk area, first manifested symptoms of the disease on July 30.

Over the weekend, the SBMA ordered SBITC to have all its employees tested through reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in order to prevent a total shutdown of operations.

SBITC president Roberto Locsin agreed and gave his assurance that all other personnel in the terminal will undergo RT-PCR test. These included a total of 238 shift workers, port users, security personnel, canteen staff, and even SBMA checkers.

However, as results of the mass testing on Monday began coming in, 14 new cases were confirmed as of Wednesday from about 80 percent of the total number of tests taken, resulting to a running count of 29.

“If more Covid-19 cases are discovered among SBITC workers, and if local medical facilities can no longer accommodate them, then we offer the Subic gym community isolation facility,” Eisma said.

“We have started preparing the Subic gym as early as April for just this kind of scenario—but always with the prayer that it won’t come to this, and here we are now. It’s sad, but at least there’s a place where the afflicted can go and get medical care without posing risk to their families,” she added.

The Subic gym, which has just been refurbished last year as venue for the Southeast Asian Games, has been converted by the SBMA into a 32-bed care and isolation facility complete with work and rest quarters for medical care personnel.

The facility became a DOH-certified community isolation unit for Covdi-19 cases effective July 29, 2020, under a certificate signed by Dr. Cesar Cassion, director of the DOH Central Luzon Center for Health Development.

Eisma said the SBITC may use the facility at its own expense, as the DOH has not yet designated any level-2 hospital in the community to manage it as a Covid-19 facility.

Aside from the Subic gym, the SBMA also transformed the six-storey Leciel Hotel building into an additional care and isolation facility with 81 rooms. This, however, is still awaiting DOH accreditation. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTO: 

DOH personnel, local health care professionals and SBMA managers inspect the Subic gym community isolation facility after its completion in April.

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SBMA orders mass testing of Subic container terminal workers

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has ordered the Subic Bay International Terminal Corp. (SBITC), operator of the new container terminal here, to have all their employees tested for new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) after an outbreak of cases there last week.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said a total of 14 positive cases have been recorded among SBITC workers since July 30 when a worker from Olongapo City, who had no history of travel to any high-risk area, first manifested symptoms of the disease.

“It was either mass testing by RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) or shutdown of terminal operations—that’s the only choice left if we wanted to contain the outbreak,” Eisma said.

She said the SBMA also required disinfection of the whole terminal complex, closure of engineering and maintenance areas subject to focused disinfection, and daily in-house disinfection.

“Thankfully, the SBITC management was very cooperative in our strategy to contain the spread, as we knew that closure is a last resort because testing is the key to preventing the spread and that the Red Cross lab at our doorstep makes for fast turnaround for results,”  she added.

She said that SBITC president Roberto Locsin has given the assurance that aside from those already traced and tested after some workers turned out positive, all other personnel working in the container terminal will undergo RT-PCR test.

These include a total of 238 shift workers, port users, security personnel, canteen staff, and even SBMA checkers.

According to contact tracing records received by the SBMA Public Health and Safety Department, at least 50 employees have been identified as close contacts after the first Covid-19 infection at SBITC.

The PHSD said that after the first worker tested positive on Aug. 4, tracing identified 15 contacts in the workforce. When three of the 15 contacts tested positive on Aug. 7, 25 close contacts were identified in turn and of these, seven came out positive. Since then, three other positive cases were recorded.

Of the 14 infected workers, nine are from Olongapo City, four from Zambales, and one from Aurora.

Only two of the confirmed cases have been admitted to a hospital, as the rest, who are mostly asymptomatic, were placed on home quarantine.

In messages to Chairman Eisma, Locsin said that they have also initiated other measures to arrest the infection in the workplace.

Aside from contact tracing and immediate quarantining of close contacts, the firm had since closed the administration building to visitors, started issuing gate passes online, encouraged online payments, closed the operations barracks, ordered the mandatory wearing of face mask and face shield, and prohibited dine-in at the company canteen.

Locsin also said terminal facilities have been disinfected first by the SBMA Fire Department on Aug. 8 to 10, and the next by a third party contractor on Aug. 11. More disinfection was made on Aug. 15 and 16.

For the mass testing scheduled today, Aug. 17, Eisma said that swabbing booths have been set up by SBITC at the terminal, with two mobile swab booths loaned by the SBMA for contingency.

Two medical technologists will be assigned at the container terminal to take swab samples starting at 9 a.m. from 80 SBITC staff already stationed at the terminal, while three others will be at the SBMA swabbing center near the Subic main gate for samples from the other 158 SBITC workers who would be coming mostly from Olongapo City.

Eisma said that test results can be generated within 24 to 48 hours, depending on the volume of samples tested at the Red Cross molecular laboratory here in the Freeport. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTO: 

The new container terminal operated by SBITC in the Subic Bay Freeport

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DOTr holds dry run to test Subic crew-change protocols

 The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Friday conducted a dry run in the point-to-point embarkation and debarkation of seafarers in preparation for the proposed activation of the Port of Subic as a crew-change hub.

The practice run held at the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA) complex involved departure and arrival procedures at the former Hanjin ferry landing near the airport, using tugboats to transport the crew to and from ships at anchorage.

Meanwhile, the more complex arrival procedure was simulated at the Subic airport terminal where new arrivals would undergo the required swab test, have their documents processed at a one-stop-shop, and thereafter proceed to a mandatory quarantine facility.

In the test run, DOTr officials gave assurances on the safety of the procedures and said the crew-change protocols to be implemented here are the best practices in the maritime sector.

“The system we are implementing has incorporated lessons we have learned from earlier activities,” said Vice Admiral Narciso Vingson, who is DOTr assistant secretary for communications and commuter affairs.

“During the mass repatriation of seafarers from cruise ships, there were steps that have already been corrected to ensure that health will not be compromised – for the workers and the seafarers. To be able to check this, we have involved all parties, national and local government and agencies,” Vingson added.

 

The simulations on Friday were witnessed by representatives of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), local government units (LGUs) around the Subic Bay Freeport, and other agencies involved in the project.

Feedback from LGU representatives present in Friday’s dry run focused mostly on local workers who might be exposed to Covid-19 infection during crew-change operations, a concern raised earlier by SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma.

Eisma said that Subic is willing to host the crew-change hub project, but stressed that safety measures should be in place in all phases of the project and that LGUs should be consulted in all aspects because workers who would man crew-change facilities will come from communities contiguous to Subic.

So far, Eisma said, the SBMA board of directors had only approved the first phase of the project, which involves the point-to-point embarkation of seafarers, pending local consensus on the second phase which involves the quarantine of arriving crewmen in hotels within the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

In the dry run, DOTr Undersecretary Raul Del Rosario, who is administrator of the Office for Transport Security (OTS), pointed out that the one-stop-shop system would not allow direct exposure between seafarers and processors who would be coming from the Bureau of Quarantine, and that no airport staff would be directly involved in the crew-change operation.

Regarding phase two, Del Rosario said the safety requirements of LGUs “can be met easily because they have already been included in the protocols.” 

“All hotel workers will be housed. They will be quarantined for 14 days before being allowed to go home,” he added.

Del Rosario also said that in order to ensure transparency of crew-change operations, LGUs will be represented in the one-stop-shop monitoring team, which will be given updates and reports on a regular basis.

The activation of Subic as crew-change hub is national government undertaking involving the DOTr as lead agency, and supported by the Department of Health, Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Interior and Local Government, the SBMA, and other government agencies. 

The project seeks to implement the so-called Philippine Green Lane to facilitate the speedy and safe travel of seafarers, including their safe and swift crew change during the Covid-19 pandemic.  (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

[1-] “Outbound seafarers” arrive at the Subic ferry landing for ship embarkation during a crew-change dry run conducted by the Department of Transportation at the Subic Bay Freeport on Friday, Aug. 14.

[2] “Outbound seafarers” ride a tugboat to embark on a ship during a crew-change dry run. 

[3] “Inbound seafarers” undergo swabbing and processing of documents. 

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SBMA moves to cancel work permit of Chinese Covid-19 patient

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said it will cancel the special work permit given to a Chinese national who was recently confined in a hospital here for Covid-19 infection. 

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said she has ordered the agency’s Visa Processing Office to cancel the Special Subic-Clark Work Visa (SSCWV) given to the Chinese patient because the holder has already resigned from work effective May 31.

“We’re taking this action because once a foreign national is no longer connected with a Subic-registered company, the employer must request for a downgrading of the employee’s special work visa,” Eisma explained.

“But in this case, his former employer was not able to notify the SBMA because of the quarantine, so we have to set the record straight now,” Eisma added.

Eisma revealed that the said Chinese national was the same 29-year old male Chinese that the SBMA had announced on August 7 as the latest Covid-19 case among guests and transient workers in the Subic Bay Freeport.

The announcement stirred some concern in the Subic community because the entry of tourists into the Freeport has been prohibited under Covid-19 quarantine rules.

Eisma said, however, that the Chinese patient was classified as a tourist or visitor by contact-tracers after learning that he had checked into a local hotel last June 6.

“The contact-tracers learned he was not a resident or an employed worker in the Freeport, so he was classified as a tourist. In fact, he voluntarily had his swab samples taken on August 5 because he needed it in looking for a job,” Eisma added.

The SBMA official said that further investigation into the case of the Chinese patient revealed that he first arrived in the Philippines in November 2018 to work as a customer service representative for TeleEmpire, a POGO service company in this Freeport.

Records from the Bureau of Immigration, meanwhile, showed that he briefly left the country on Oct. 12 last year for a trip to China and came back three days later. The patient said he visited his family at his hometown in Guangzhou, a city northwest of Hong Kong.  

The Chinese national had declared that aside for the 2019 trip to China, he had not left the Subic Bay Freeport because he “had no friends outside of the zone.”

He said he had resigned from the company effective May 31 because he had intended to return to China. But after looking into the availability and cost of air travel back to China, he said he had decided to stay in Subic and find another job here until the pandemic is over.

On June 6, he left the TeleEmpire guest house in the Freeport and checked into a local hotel together with a roommate, also a Chinese national. 

SBMA records indicate that the Chinese first secured a Special Subic Clark Work Visa (SSCWV) in February 2019 and had it renewed last March for another special work permit valid until March 2, 2022.

However, Eisma said this must now be cancelled because the Chinese national is no longer in the employ of any Subic-registered company.

Eisma said the SBMA will apply the same measure against the patient’s roommate, who had similarly resigned from TeleEmpire and was also looking for work. 

The patient’s roommate, who also took the RT-PCR test in preparation for a new job, has tested negative of the Covid-19 virus. (MPD-SBMA)

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LNG ship-to-ship transfer resumes in Subic, but ship crew won’t disembark

 

Ship-to-ship transfer operations of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has resumed in Subic Bay with the arrival here of a tanker over the weekend, but the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said the ship crew won’t be allowed to disembark due to health protocols observed in this time of the Covid-19 pandemic.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the agency has made it clear that the officers and crew of LNG/C Methane Shirley Elisabeth, a tanker that will transfer her LNG cargo to smaller feeder ships, would remain on board all throughout the two-week operation. 

“No one from the ship can be allowed to come ashore, sadly not even the 16 Filipinos among the 31 crew members, because of the health measures we must observe,” Eisma said.

The same policy will be implemented for the crew members of feeder vessels that will transport the LNG cargo from LNG/C Methane Shirley Elisabeth to ports in China, she added.

Eisma described the resumption of LNG ship-to-ship (STS) transfer operations in Subic as a “welcome boost to the economy” but stressed that health safety should be a paramount concern for both ship and port personnel.

According to SBMA seaport manager Jerome Martinez, LNG/C Methane Shirley Elisabeth, which has a gross tonnage of 95,753 tons, has a carrying capacity of 142,800 cubic meters of liquid gas.

He said the Bermudan-flagged carrier originated from Qatar and dropped by at a Hong Kong port to pick up three mooring masters before proceeding to Subic.

The ship is expected to stay at anchor here until August 15 for STS operations.

Martinez also confirmed that no one among the crew would be allowed to disembark from the ship for any reason while it is in the Port of Subic.

He said that aside from the 16 Filipino crewmen, 15 other foreign nationals are on board the vessel. These include nine Greeks, two Croatians, two Ukrainians, a Romanian, and a Latvian.

Martinez also noted that upon arrival at the anchorage area outside of the bay, a team from the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) immediately boarded the tanker for health inspections and safety protocols, and followed by a boarding party composed of personnel from the Bureau of Customs (BoC) and Bureau of Immigration (BoI).

Following LNG/C Methane Shirley Elisabeth, another LNG carrier, the Singaporean-flagged LNG/C Lerici, will also conduct ship-to-ship (STS) transfer in Subic.

Eisma said the same health and safety protocols will be imposed by Subic authorities for Lerici’s STS operation. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTO:  

The LNG carrier Methane Shirley Elisabeth

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SBMA warns vs travel, exposure to visitors

 Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma warned against travel to other places and accepting visitors from areas with raging new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infections, as authorities noted a new surge in positive cases here and in nearby communities.

Eisma said on Thursday (July 23) that the Subic agency is now strictly monitoring the entry of persons from Metro Manila and other Covid-19 hot spots after three Subic residents, as well as eight Freeport guests so far, tested positive of the virus recently. 

“Our sentries manning the Freeport gates are now asking for ID’s and documents that would indicate the residence of visitors, and if they were from Manila or any other area with high Covid incidence, then they would have to present health certificates,” Eisma said.

“We are also asking residents in the Freeport to be conscientious about accepting visitors, especially those from MECQ or GCQ areas, as we have traced the recent cases to exposure to visitors or travel to certain Covid hot spots,” she added.

Eisma pointed out that there has not been any community transmission recorded in the Subic Freeport, which has strictly restricted entry since the Luzon-wide quarantine was imposed last March. “So these new cases can only be attributed to outside contacts. These are imported infections,” she added.

According to the SBMA Public Health and Safety Department (SBMA-PHSD), a total of 11 confirmed cases have been recorded in the Subic Freeport just recently, after it was placed under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).

Among Freeport residents, the first case was that of a 22-year old female, who received a visitor from Manila; the second, a 42-year old male, who had travelled to Laguna; and the third, a 38-year old male, who had no history of travel but is suspected to have been exposed to a visitor.

Meanwhile, a total of eight guests had tested positive while staying at a house in the Freeport. These included two visitors from Quezon City; three from Subic, Zambales; one from Palauig, Zambales; and two from Olongapo City. 

Two of these infected guests reportedly left the Freeport for Manila even before their test results came out. The rest, who are all asymptomatic, remained here on quarantine and under close monitoring by health workers, the SBMA-PHSD said.

The latest local cases traced to travel outside the Freeport were those of five members of the SBMA security force, who are suspected to have been exposed while in Manila.

Eisma said three of these personnel had remained under quarantine in Manila, while one was admitted into a local hospital last Tuesday (July 21), and the other into an SBMA care and isolation facility, along with three members of his family whose RT-PCR tests also turned positive. 

All of their significant contacts had been traced and have been scheduled for swabbing, Eisma said.

She added that the five security personnel are suspected to have been infected by a co-worker while eating together as a group in Manila.

“So this should be a lesson that we cannot be complacent and take the Covid-19 infections for granted, and that we could have a false sense of security when we are with friends or associates. The truth is, we can never tell who is infectious because a lot of positives are asymptomatic,” Eisma stressed.

Communities near the Subic Bay Freeport have also reported new Covid-19 cases following the easing of travel restrictions when they were placed under MGCQ. 

Zambales, which has recorded a total of 45 confirmed cases, reported five new ones on Thursday, July 23. Three had history of travel to Manila, one to Bulacan, and another to Quezon City.

Olongapo City, which has reported a total of 23 confirmed cases, announced three more on Wednesday, July 22 — all related to a person with a history of travel to Manila. (MPD-SBMA) 

PHOTO:

A traffic enforcer checks motorists coming into the Subic Bay Freeport as part of border controls during the community quarantine.

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Subic tourism firms start transition to ‘new normal’

 Tourism-related businesses are coming back to life in this Freeport and are starting transition to the “new normal” after a long hiatus since March when the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) was imposed in Luzon to stem the spread of the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

Restaurants and food outlets are leading the way in rejuvenating the tourism scene here by opening their doors to the public, first with essential delivery service to clients, and lately with the much-awaited dine-in convenience, said Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma.

“It’s a painful struggle bringing businesses back to life, especially when we know that Covid-19 has not really gone away, but the economy should reopen lest we find ourselves in a more unsustainable position,” Eisma said on Wednesday.

She said restaurants and other dine-in food outlets here are now allowed to open up to 75% of their capacity since Tuesday (July 21) under DTI Memorandum Circular 20-39, but the SBMA insists on safety protocols like social distancing, disinfection, thermal scans, as well as wearing of mask among patrons.

“These are things that may be inconvenient, but which businesses and other stakeholders here have to abide with. We have to adopt certain measures to protect ourselves and our community, and to continue living. That’s the new normal in Subic,” Eisma added.

The SBMA Business and Investment Group said it has allowed 44 restaurants and food outlets to offer dine-in services at 30% of their capacity since Subic eased down to general community quarantine (GCQ) in June 1, and then to 50% when restrictions were further relaxed under modified GCQ a month after.

Now, these establishments find that transiting to the new normal also required them to work their way up in attracting customers. And that included setting up foot baths, thermal scanners, and alcohol dispensers for the public.

S&R Pizza manager Dennis Marasigan recalled that during the first time they opened their outlet under GCQ, it was only for take-outs and deliveries, with only 30% of their full workforce able to work.

“When the Subic Bay Freeport shifted to MGCQ, we started accepting dine-in customers, but we have to implement stricter safety protocols to ensure that they will have a safer dine-in experience,” he added.

Right now, Marasigan said, tables at the S&R outlet at the Harbor Point Ayala Mall here have X markings to tell customers where not to sit. And while customers can enjoy eating in groups, they still can’t be seated face-to-face. 

Elsewhere in the Freeport, Rali’s Restaurant and Magic Lagoon Bistro also have to observe health protocols, even when al fresco dining areas like them do not have the “3 C’s” where Covid-19 is said to spread more easily: confined space, crowded place, and close-contact setting.

At Rali’s, registration for contact-tracing, which is required in all dine-in establishments in Subic, is also done digitally to further ensure customer protection, said owner-chef Rubelh Peralta.  Placing orders, as well as paying, can also be done online here.

However, while restaurants, retail shops, and hotels are coming back on track, Subic’s iconic tourism attraction Zoobic Safari theme park is still awaiting advisory to open up. 

Zoobic chief operating officer May Gamir said that the popular animal theme park here had recently introduced a buy-one, take-one promo for admission tickets with no expiry in order to raise funds needed in feeding the animals and maintaining the park. 

Each ticket will admit two people for the price of one and valid for any day in the future when the theme park re-opens beyond the quarantine and under the “new normal”. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS: 

[1] A restaurant doorway sign reminds customer of health protocols at the Subic Bay Freeport

[2] A guard reminds mall-goers in the Subic Bay Freeport to practise social distancing

[3] Stanchions keep social-distancing among customers at a pizza restaurant in the Subic Bay Freeport

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SBMA reiterates safety protocols as SBFZ posts first Covid positives

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) repeated its call for the strict observance of health safety measures in this Freeport after it recorded the first positive cases of Covid-19 infection here on Tuesday.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator said in a statement late Tuesday afternoon that two residents of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone had contracted the virus, breaking the Covid-free status that Subic had zealously maintained in the last four months of the quarantine.

By Tuesday night, however, six more cases were known, as results from the SBMA-Red Cross testing laboratory came in, Eisma said.

“While there has been no recorded local transmission of Covid-19 in the Freeport, we have now two residents who have tested positive of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the infection,” Eisma said in the statement.

She disclosed that the first patient, a 22-year old female, had a visitor from Manila recently, while the second patient, a 42-year old male, works in Laguna and simply comes back to Subic on weekends.

“Both are asymptomatic and in self-quarantine pending their transfer to an isolation and care facility,” she added.

On the other hand, Eisma said the six other cases “are just visitors in the Freeport, who were tested at the SBMA-PRC testing facility.” Two had reportedly left the Freeport before their swab test results came out, while the other four are being quarantined in Subic.

According to records, the six new cases are all female. The first two, aged 40 and 45, are residents of one address in Quezon City; the third is a 67-year old from Palauig, Zambales; while the rest, aged 46, 17 and 14, are all residents of one address in Subic, Zambales.

In the same statement, Eisma said that she had also gone into voluntary quarantine as a precautionary measure after attending the commissioning ceremony of BRP Jose Rizal, the country’s first missile frigate, here at the Alava Pier last Friday.

Eisma said she was informed that one of the Philippine Navy officials present in the ceremony had recently test positive of Covid-19.

Eisma noted that all the reported positive cases in Subic seemed to be imported, as six of them involved visitors to the Freeport while the first resident had a visitor from Manila and the other had history of travel to Laguna.

“So we’re confident that there is still no community transmission here in Subic and we want to keep it that way,” she added.

She said that the SBMA is doing all necessary contact tracing and other safety procedures like disinfection of public facilities and offices “to ensure the continued safety of all.”

“While this may be the price of economic revival when we have to open our gates to help heal the economy, it becomes clearer that our only road out of this crisis is eternal vigilance and mutual responsibility,” Eisma said in her statement.

“I reiterate my call for vigilance and strict adherence to established health and safety protocols,” Eisma also told Subic stakeholders. “We need your support now, more than ever, as we can overcome this pandemic only if we are stronger together.” (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS: 

[1-2] Members of the SBMA Fire Department disinfect facilities in the Subic Bay Freeport under the SBMA’s heightened Covid-19 response. (MPD-SBMA)

[3] Official statement of the SBMA posted over social media.

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Philippine Navy Commissions its First Ever Missile Frigate BRP Jose Rizal

The Philippine Navy commissioned its first ever guided missile frigate, BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150), during a ceremony held Friday (July 10) at Alava Wharf, Subic Bay, Zambales.

The event was attended remotely via video (due to the pandemic) by Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte as guest of honor and the Philippine Navy’s flag-officer-in-command Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Bacordo.

The commissioning ceremony should have taken place on June 19, date of the birthday of the ship’s namesake Dr. Jose Rizal. However, when the ship arrived in Subic on June 15, the crew of 65 had to quarantine for two weeks after one of its crew member tested positive for COVID-19. Following the quarantine, the frigate went through the final inspection before final acceptance.

The Philippine Navy announced earlier this week that BRP Jose Rizal will be participating in this year’s RIMPAC exercise along-side the U.S. Navy and 10 other nations. (NavalNews.com)

Read more--> https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2020/07/philippine-navy-commissions-its-first-ever-missile-frigate-brp-jose-rizal/

PH Navy starts ‘new era of dev’t’ with BRP Rizal: PRRD

MANILA – The commissioning of the BRP Jose Rizal, the country’s first missile-frigate, marks the start of the Philippine Navy‘s “new era of development and transformation,” President Rodrigo R. Duterte said Friday.

"Today is the beginning of a new era of development and transformation for our Philippine Navy as we witness the commissioning of (the) Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas (BRP) Jose Rizal,” Duterte said in a taped video message flashed on the screen during the handover, christening, commissioning, and blessing of the frigate at the Alava Wharf in Subic Bay, Zambales.

The BRP Jose Rizal, a multi-role frigate built by South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries, is capable of conducting anti-air warfare, anti-surface war, anti-submarine warfare, and electronic warfare operations.

The President expressed optimism that with the BRP Jose Rizal, the Philippine Navy would be more motivated to serve the country.

“I convey my deepest gratitude and appreciation to (the) Philippine Navy for always delivering the highest standard of service to our country and our people,” he said. “I am hopeful that you shall likewise be doubling the passion and commitment you have already manifested in ensuring the peace and progress truly deserved by our country.”

The procurement of the frigate was signed in 2016, along with another frigate, the BRP Antonio Luna that was launched in November 2019.

Read more --> https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1108655

PHOTOS:

[1-2] The Philippine Navy commissioned its first ever guided missile frigate, BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) in ceremonies held at the Alava Wharf, Subic Bay Freeport Zone. (MPD-SBMA)

[3] SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma Eisma attends the commissioning by the Philippine Navy of the BRP Jose Rizal in Subic Bay Freeport. Secretary of National Defense of the Philippines Maj. Gen. Delfin Negrillo Lorenzana (3rd right) leads the commissioning ceremony while being accompanied by PAF chief Lieutenant General Allen T. Paredes, Philippine Army chief Lieutenant General Gilbert Italia Gapay, SBMA chief Eisma, Armed Forces of the Philippines chief-of-staff Lt. Gen. Felimon Santos Jr., and Philippine Navy Flag Officer-in-Command Vice Admiral Giovanni Carlo Jamero Bacordo. (MPD-SBMA)

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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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Subic Freeport Covid-19 testing center now open to public

Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test, which is considered the gold standard in the accurate diagnosis of the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19), is now available to residents in the Subic Bay Freeport area and neighboring communities.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the public may now avail of RT-PCR testing here even as employees of the Subic agency undergo testing on a staggered schedule.

“We are now close to completing the testing of SBMA frontline workers, and so we are calling on business locators and other stakeholders in Subic to get their frontliners tested, too, and for residents from nearby areas to also avail of RT-PCR for their peace of mind now that testing is conveniently available here in Subic,” Eisma said.

“The 3T’s — testing, tracing, and treating — is still the best way to beat Covid-19 and to keep our community safe and conducive to business,” she added.

The testing center, which was established jointly by the SBMA and the Philippine Red Cross (PRC), is located at the former Wimpy's Restaurant near the Freeport main gate and is manned by technicians trained on taking swab samples.
Under the RT-PCR test, actual swabs from the nose or throat of patients are used to determine the actual presence of the coronavirus and if a person is currently infected.

The swab samples are then forwarded for analysis at the Red Cross molecular laboratory in Subic’s Naval Magazine area, which is capable of doing 2,000 tests daily.

Eisma said that to avail of the test, interested parties may register via email at swabtest.sbmaprc@gmail.com and pay a testing fee of P4,000 through any of the following bank accounts: Philippine Red Cross, Account No. 151-7-151524342 at Metrobank (Port Area Manila Branch), or Philippine Red Cross, Account No. 00-453-0190938 at Banco de Oro (Port Area Manila Branch).

Then applicants would have to email proof of payment (scanned or screenshot) along with applicants’ name to treasury.office4@redcross.org.ph, forms@redcross.org.ph, and swbtest.sbmaprc@gmail.com.

Following verification of payment, the confirmed testing schedule will be emailed to the applicants who should report at the SBMA-PRC Swabbing Facility on the scheduled testing date.

Eisma said that results of the RT-PCR Covid-19 test will be available in four days.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Red Cross announced on Sunday the launching of a COVID Samaritan program to ensure that poor people who could not afford the Covid-19 testing fees could get tested.

Senator Richard J. Gordon, PRC chairman and CEO, reiterated the need to ramp up testing to ensure victory over Covid-19 and added that the COVID Samaritan program would help those who could not afford the testing fee with funds donated for the program.

“Kailangan ma-test ang mga tao para manalo tayo laban sa Covid. This way, carriers can be separated from those who are not infected and they can be cured. At maaari na ring makabalik sa trabaho kapag na-test. Kaya sinimulan namin ang programang ito para pati ‘yung mga hindi kayang magbayad, maaaring makapagpa-test,” he said.

Gordon disclosed that the Automobile Association of the Philippines has donated €50,000 or almost P2.8-million for the COVID Samaritan program. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTO:

Workers pass by the SBMA-PRC Swabbing Facility near the Subic Bay Freeport main gate. SBMA Chairman Wilma T. Eisma has urged Subic stakeholders and residents from nearby communities to avail of RT-PCR testing services offered at the facility. (MPD-SBMA)

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Covid-19 testing center opens in Subic Bay Freeport

A molecular laboratory capable of doing 2,000 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests daily has formally opened in the Subic Bay Freeport under a joint project between the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).

Senator Richard Gordon, who is PRC chairman, inspected the laboratory last Friday, along with SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma and Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) president and CEO Vince Dizon, who has been designated deputy chief implementer of the government’s Covid-19 response.

“The Subic lab is already open. We need to have the employees of SBMA tested first, then those of the locators, and then the public in Olongapo Zambales and Bataan,” Gordon said in a media briefing after the inspection.

“Our aim is to get our people tested so that we can immediately isolate those who are affected and prevent the non-carriers from acquiring the virus. We really have to ramp up testing to ensure victory over Covid,” he added.

PRC’s Subic laboratory located at the former naval magazine area here will be working in tandem with the SBMA’s swabbing center, which is strategically located at the Freeport main gate.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the SBMA will assign up to 15 swabbers in the facility to accommodate samples from nearby communities and provinces.

“Zambales is already sending swab samples for testing at the PRC labs in Manila. Now, Subic offers a nearer alternative that would also hasten the process and make the results available earlier,” she said.

Eisma explained that she has already enjoined neighboring local government units in Zambales and Bataan to have their residents tested in conjunction with the PRC-SBMA mass-testing project.

The Red Cross testing facility in the Freeport is 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.

Application for testing will be screened and processed through the Red Cross hotline 1158, and will cost P3,500 per test. Gordon said the minimal cost will defray the costs of equipment, manpower and supplies, and other overhead needed for the mass testing program.

Gordon said the PRC laboratory in Subic, combined with a similar laboratory that PRC had set up with the BCDA at the Clark Freeport Zone, will help step up the government’s mass testing program.

“We can do a total of 4,000 tests per day in the two new facilities, which will enable us to run an overall total of 16,000 tests a day,” Gordon said.

He said that as more laboratories are being prepared, the Red Cross will be able to increase its overall capacity to 32,000 tests a day by next week.

Aside from the testing laboratory and the swabbing center, the Subic Bay Freeport is also home to two Covid-19 care and isolation facilities that the SBMA has set up at the Subic Gym and the former Leciel Hotel.

Eisma said these projects had been put up with the help of donations from investor companies in the Subic Freeport and other private groups and individuals from all over the country. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:
[1] Sen. Richard Gordon and SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma inspect the PRC molecular laboratory on Friday. The PRC lab has the capacity to complete 2,000 tests daily.

[2] Sen. Richard Gordon observes how a medical technician takes a swab sample at the SBMA swabbing center on Friday

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