P15-M illegal fresh veggies shipment seized in Subic Freeport

Some P15-milion worth of fresh vegetables illegally shipped from China were confiscated here on Thursday through the coordinated efforts of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), Bureau of Customs-Port of Subic (BOC-Subic), and the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Plant Industry (DA-BPI).

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the fresh vegetables were found inside five 40-footer container vans that were declared to contain frozen assorted vegetables and consigned to Saturnus Corp., an importer based in Metro Manila.

The shipment was initially flagged on October 13 by authorities here for non-compliance with the approved sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance (SPS-IC) on temperature requirement and for ingress of non-importable fresh vegetables.

“We found out that the shipment contained chilled fresh vegetables that are considered illegal for importation into the country. These included various fresh produce such as water bamboo, mushrooms, broccoli, and other vegetables,” Eisma said.

The shipment was also found to contain undeclared agricultural products like sweet oats, she added.

Eisma, along with BOC District Collector Marites Martin and Agriculture Assistant Secretary for Economic Intelligence Federico Laciste Jr., inspected the contraband at the New Container Terminal here on Thursday afternoon.

Martin said her office already issued warrants of seizure and detention for the shipment, stressing that the consignee Saturnus Corp. was only given a permit to import frozen vegetables.

She stressed that the temperature of frozen commodities should be at -18 degrees Celsius, but that the refrigerated containers in the Saturnus shipment were at -1 degrees Celsius. “Thus, the issued SPS  Importation clearance is not applicable in the instant importation,” Martin added.

She said the Port of Subic “will definitely remain fully committed in securing the country’s borders from the entry of prohibited, smuggled goods, and all other illicit trades.”

Agriculture Asec Federico Laciste Jr., who is also the co-chair of the Economic Intelligence Sub-Task Group on Food Security, said the seizure of the illegal shipment was the “result of concerted efforts between government agencies such as the SBMA, DA-BPI, BOC, DTI, and other offices through the Economic Intelligence Sub-Task Group on Food Security.” 

He pointed out that the shipment violated the agency’s Administrative Order No. 18, series of 2000, and Sec. 19 of DA Department Circular 4, series of 2016, in relation to Section 1113 (f) of Republic Act No. 10863 otherwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA).

Meanwhile, SBMA Senior Deputy Administrator for Operations Ronnie Yambao said that the inter-agency team made a thorough search of the shipment, including a probe for any illegal drug or substance in the shipment, after initially finding violations on Wednesday.

He said the concerned agencies conducted a 10 percent physical examination of the shipment in the presence of the broker’s representative, and personnel of the BOC and SBMA. (MPD-SBMA)

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SBMA workers near 70% full-vaccination rate

Nearly 70 percent of the employees of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) are now fully vaccinated against the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) as a result of an intensified vaccination program implemented by the agency in the last five months.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said on Thursday that of the 2,238 employees in the SBMA rolls, a total of 1,561 or 69.75% already received their full dose of Covid-19 vaccines, while 513 or 22.92% have already had their first vaccine shots.

This leaves just 164 or 7.33% of the total SBMA manpower personnel yet unvaccinated.

Eisma said, however, that more agency workers are expected to be fully-vaccinated in the next two months as more vaccine allocations come in from the Department of Health (DOH) and private sources.

“Right now, we’re looking forward to a full-vaccination rate of more than 90 percent — which is the new target for herd immunity — for our employees by December,” Eisma said.

“We’re doing everything that we can to get all our employees inoculated because, like the rest of the workforce in the Subic Bay Freeport, we need to get back to our normal work schedules to get the local economy going again,” she added.

According to SBMA records, 11 of the 47 departments and offices in the agency already have 100% vaccination rate as of October 12. These are the Office of the Chairman and Administrator, Board Secretariat and Office of the Directors, Office of the Deputy Administrator (ODA) for Health and Safety, Public Health and Safety Department, Office of the Senior Deputy Administrator (OSDA) for Support Services, ODA for Administration, ODA for Finance, Management Information Systems Office, Legal Department, ODA for Port Operations, and the Trade Facilitation and Compliance Department.

Meanwhile, 12 other offices have a full-vaccination rate of from 80 to 96 percent, while eight more rank in the 70’s.

Some health experts had earlier increased the vaccination rate to achieve the so-called ‘herd immunity” from the initial 70% to 90% because new Covid-19 variants have reportedly lowered the efficacy of available vaccines.

The SBMA last month expanded the coverage of its vaccination drive to include more workers in locator-companies in the Subic Bay Freeport to sustain productivity in this special economic and free port zone.

Eisma said that under the SBMA-DOH vaccine rollout, the SBMA Public Health and Safety Department continues to vaccinate qualified recipients in the A1 to A4 categories of the government’s priority list. (MPD-SBMA)

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Subic sets ‘bubble’ for FilBasket inaugural tourney

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) will also require a sports bubble set-up for the Filipino Basketball League (Filbasket), an upcoming amateur basketball confederation, which is awaiting approval for its inaugural play-off here.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the “bubble’ concept, which isolates players and organizers from the public, will be implemented for the tournament because it is a proven safety measure for various events here in Subic.

“The sports bubble has worked here in Subic and with this we have successfully hosted the 2021 Gatorade-PSL Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup last February and the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) playoffs last March,” Eisma explained.

“With the continuing risks from Covid-19, we need to ensure the health and safety of the participants, organizers, and even the locals who would interact with the visitors, that’s why we always insist on a bubble,” she added.

Eisma issued the statement after FilBasket League commissioner Jai Reyes confirmed that the inaugural tournament will be held in the Subic Bay Freeport and not in Batangas, which is still under general community quarantine (GCQ).

Subic is under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).

According to Reyes, league organizers are just waiting for the go-signal from the SBMA and the Regional Interagency Task Force (RIATF) to hold the event.  

Eisma said that the safety protocols under the FilBasket bubble will be the same as that of the previous sporting events held here: players and organizers, as well as the league’s dedicated media team, will be isolated in hotels, with access only to the tournament venue, and all had to undergo a reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test upon arrival.

“There will be no live audience watching the games, as the tournament will be broadcast by television,” she added.

FilBasket, which was founded by two-time UAAP champion Jai Reyes of Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards (MPBL), will have 11 amateur teams competing in the inaugural tournament.

The teams will play for a single round-robin elimination match-up from which the top four teams will qualify for the semifinals round. The winners in the semis will square off for the championship. (MPD-SBMA)

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Subic to host Miss Philippines-World finals with full health-safety protocols

The Miss World Philippines coronation night will be held here tomorrow at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center (SBECC) with full safety protocols following full endorsement for the event to proceed from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the pageant’s final ceremony here was only approved after rigorous vetting of Covid-19 health procedures and subsequent assurances by organizers that they will strictly follow protocols set by the IATF.

“This will be another bubble event like the other ones Subic had hosted for basketball and volleyball tournaments, as well as some national conferences,” Eisma said.

“The SBMA Board approved the request of ALV Event International, Inc., the organizer of the Miss World Philippines, to have the event here in Subic only after the Regional Task Force (RTF3) conducted an online coordination meeting with us and the organizers,” she added.

Eisma said among the requirements set were: full vaccination of all attendees; conduct of daily antigen tests, including guests, during the pageant; 24-hour posting of marshals with placards to act as health and safety protocol checkers, along with usherettes; and daily health declarations/reports with QR-coded IDs for contact tracing.

“Aside from the 44 candidates, there will also be guests and members of the organizing committee who will be taking part in the event. And we all want them to contain themselves for the duration of the event,” Eisma added.

“We’d like to stress here that we have set a 1:30 marshal-guests ratio to ensure enforcement of health protocols and that there will be only 800 attendees in a 5,000-capacity venue,” she also said.

Meanwhile, Miss World Philippines national director Arnold Vegafria expressed his gratitude for the approval to stage the coronation night at the SBECC.

He said that his promotion submitted its proposal to SBMA to stage the coronation night in Subic on September 21 and received r3ecommendation from the SBMA board of directors four days later after thoroughly establishing required safety measures.

“Rest assured that all IATF and SBMA health protocols will be strictly enforced by our EWP medical director-in-charge as recommended in the SBMA Board resolution,” he added.

The coronation night will feature 44 candidates vying for seven crowns in the pageant. These are titles for Miss World Philippines, Miss Eco Philippines, Miss Eco Teen Philippines, Reina Hispanoamericana Filipinas, Miss Multinational, Miss Philippines Tourism, and Miss Environment International.

The Miss World Philippines pageant, which is one of the most prestigious beauty pageants in the country, is on its 10th edition this year. (MPD-SBMA)

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‘Yellow cards’ now available in Subic Freeport

With more and more people opting to travel abroad for work, business or pleasure, it's reassuring to know that they can get right here in Subic the "yellow cards" that are practically a necessity for international travel during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Wilma T. Eisma said the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) has opened a satellite office at the Ayala Harbor Point Mall 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.

“For those in the Subic Bay area who need to travel abroad, you don’t have to go far to get your International Certificate of Vaccination (ICV),” Eisma said. “All you have to do is apply online and once your application is approved, you can pick up your cards at the BOQ satellite office right here.”

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).

According to Karen Ann Vidaya, a senior nurse at the BOQ satellite office here, the BOQ only accepts applicants who booked their appointment online. This is to minimize contact as part of the bureau’s health and safety protocols.

“However, schedule adjustments can be made for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who already have their flight details,” she added.

The application for a “yellow card” includes booking an appointment online, paying the processing fees through designated payment facilities, and then going to the satellite office in person during the appointed date and time for passport and vaccination card validation.

“We immediately issue the ‘yellow cards’ after screening and validation of the individual’s information. It is that fast and easy,” Vidaya said.

Vidaya also said that the BOQ plans to establish a permanent office in the Subic Bay Freeport to help unclog BOQ’s Manila office and make the bureau more accessible to everyone.

The Subic satellite office is located at the second floor of Ayala Harbor Point Mall and opens Mondays to Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For BOQ online appointment, please visit www.icv.boq.ph. (MPD-SBMA)

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SBMA ramps up vaccine drive for economic frontliners

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has expanded the coverage of its vaccination drive to include more workers in locator-companies here and sustain productivity in this special economic and free port zone.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the Subic agency is getting more workers inoculated with increased vaccine allocations from the Department of Health (DOH), as well as donations from private groups like the ICTSI Foundation.

Last Thursday, Eisma supervised the launch of the second phase of SBMA’s vaccination program at the Subic Gym, with 250 employees of MSK Group Work, Inc. (Subic) and some SBMA personnel receiving their first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine from the ICTSI Foundation.

“This is the start of a more intensified vaccination program for Subic stakeholders because we are able to secure more vaccines now since we have a storage facility with a total capacity of 40,000 doses,” she added.

The SBMA chief also pointed out that under the SBMA-DOH vaccine rollout, the SBMA Public Health and Safety Department continues to vaccinate qualified recipients in the A1 to A4 categories of the government’s priority list.

SBMA Deputy Administrator for Health and Safety Ronnie Yambao said the intensified rollout is also made possible by the availability of two inoculation sites: the Subic Gym and the activity center of the Harbor Point Ayala Mall here.

Yambao said that as the SBMA administered the second dose of Sinovac vaccines from the DOH to locator employees at the Harbor Point Ayala Mall on Friday, another team was inoculating workers of the Mikuni Terminals Mechatronics Philippines Corp. with the first dose of AstraZeneca.

“We can do simultaneous vaccine rollouts because we have these two vaccination sites that can accommodate hundreds at a time,” Yambao explained.

“This morning at the gym, we finished up with 180 doses of AstraZeneca for Mikuni employees and in the afternoon, it was the turn of employees from GrainPro. All the while, the rollout for Sinovac was continuing at Harbor Point,” he added.

Aside from the aforementioned companies, Chairman Eisma said that Subic companies like Exxinum and Sanyo Denki will have their employees inoculated within company premises. Another firm, Nicera, will have its workers vaccinated at Harbor Point. Juken Sangyo, a Japanese firm at the Subic Techno Park, had its workers vaccinated on Sunday.

Eisma recounted that last July, the Subic Bay Freeport launched the vaccination program for essential workers in the A4 priority list with Secretary Vince Dizon, the deputy chief implementer of the National Action Plan Against COVID-19, and Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque gracing the occasion at the Nidec factory site.

“This is just the continuation of the A4 vaccination program we launched last July, but this time we’re doing it at a faster pace because we have a steady supply of vaccines,” she said.

Eisma also expressed thanks to the ICTSI Foundation for the vaccine donation, as well as to Subic companies that provided biomedical refrigerators to store vaccines.

“This is the first step for the Subic Bay workforce to get back to normal life and help renew economic growth. It is very important that we all get vaccinated and back on track,” Eisma added. (MPD.SBMA)

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Volunteers clear Subic beaches of plastic wastes, storm debris

 

More than 200 volunteers from locator companies, community groups and departments of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) fanned out to eight points along the shoreline here on Friday to collect mostly plastic wastes and other debris that were washed ashore after the recent heavy rains.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the coastal cleanup is an annual event here among stakeholders in line with the International Coastal Cleanup Day celebration, but was cancelled last year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This time we allowed it but on condition that the activities be undertaken with strict observance of health and safety protocols,” Eisma stressed.

“Despite the pandemic, there is still a need to protect the environment because a healthy environment is proven to be a big factor to the healing process, and we need that now more than ever,” she added.

The SBMA Ecology Center, which organized the cleanup, assigned volunteers into 10-man teams deployed at onshore cleanup points along Waterfront Beach, San Bernardino Road, Triboa Bay Boardwalk, Tago Beach, and Nabasan Beach. Others were dispersed to river deltas, while some underwater teams also dived on the bay to take out trash.

Ecology Center manager Amethya dela Llana said the trash collected by the various teams were sorted out and recorded to further study the extent of pollution along the coast and on Subic Bay.

Most of the trash washed ashore were plastic bottles, Styrofoam cups and food packets, but volunteers said they also collected a large amount of disposable face masks along with rubber slippers.

The coastal cleanup on Friday also served to conclude the weeklong celebration of this year’s Biay Dagat, a mini-festival launched in 2019 to promote environmental protection and engage stakeholder support in ecological action.

Biay Dagay 2021 was launched virtually, with the online ceremony attended by SBMA employees, business locators, environmental advocates, and other Subic stakeholder groups.

The launch was followed by a series of online lectures like “Man and Ocean: Importance of taking care of our Seas and Ocean,” “SBMA Policies in Protecting Marine Areas,” and “Waste Away: Proper Waste Management, Segregation and Disposal.”

Cenevix Mañago of the SBMA Ecology Center’s organizing team described the coastal cleanup as “hugely successful” despite the constraints of Covid-19 pandemic. (MPD-SBMA)

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SBMA expects more victory in CUSA fee dispute

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) is now expecting more success in court after it scored a huge legal victory on the issue of the Common Use Service Area (CUSA) fee, which was opposed by some businessmen and residents here since it was imposed nine years ago.

Atty. Ramon O. Agregado, SBMA Senior Deputy Administrator for Support Services, said the agency is anticipating to claim “victory in all of the other cases” after the Supreme Court (SC) dismissed the petition filed by Philip Morris Philippines Manufacturing Inc. in 2013 to stop the imposition of CUSA.

“We’re very happy that ultimately the Supreme Court decided in SBMA’s favor and sustained the validity of the CUSA fee,” Agregado said.

The Court’s First Division recently issued a 19-page resolution denying the Philip Morris petition to seek the reversal of the decision issued by the Court of Appeals (CA), which affirmed the December 2, 2015 ruling of the Regional Trial Court of Olongapo City dismissing the firm’s plea to stop the CUSA.

The CUSA fee was imposed by the SBMA in October 2012 to defray the cost of municipal services in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone that were being shouldered by the Subic agency. The fee covered law enforcement, fire-fighting, street lighting, and street cleaning.

In upholding the CA, the Supreme Court affirmed the constitutionality of the imposition of CUSA fee by the SBMA, adding that Republic Act 7227, which created the SBMA, “granted it authority to impose reasonable fees and charges for the provision of the municipal services covered by the CUSA Fee.”

Agregado said the SBMA is now waiting for the SC to affirm its decision and make it final and executory.

“Procedurally, Philip Morris can still file a motion for reconsideration. But personally, we feel very confident that ultimately, the Supreme Court will affirm its decision, which was very comprehensive. It covered all of the issues raised by Philip Morris,” Agregado added.

The SBMA senior official also disclosed that other than the complaint filed by Philip Morris, there are about 11 to 12 cases filed by other locators against the CUSA fee. Some of these have already passed the Regional Trial Court and are already in the Court of Appeals.

“Once the Supreme Court’s decision becomes final, we will invoke the decision of the Supreme Court in all of the other cases involving other locators who filed cases against the CUSA fee,” Agregado said.

Agregado recalled that when the Freeport started in 1992 until the imposition of CUSA, the SBMA had shouldered expenses for municipal services, except garbage collection. “This continued until it came to a point that the expenses were already so heavy and so significant that they were draining SBMA’s resources,” he said.

When CUSA was imposed, and some business locators and residents objected and filed court cases, the SBMA continued to provide these services just the same, Agregado explained.

“Once the SC affirms with finality the SBMA’s right to impose CUSA fee, we will have to collect arrears from those who have not paid CUSA,” he added. (MPD-SBMA)

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Subic firm donates vaccine fridge to SBMA

A business locator in this free port has donated a biomedical refrigerator to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) in support of the agency’s vaccination program for workers, residents and other stakeholders here.

SBMA Chairman Wilma T. Eisma said the donation from TeleEmpire Inc. will strengthen the capacity of the SBMA to pursue its vaccine rollout in partnership with the Department of Health (DOH) and private groups.

“It’s a bio-ref, capable of temperatures from 2 to 8 degrees Centigrade, and it’s good for Sinovac, Astra Zeneca or Janssen vaccines,” Eisma explained. “This will be a big help in our vaccine program and will complement the transport boxes and vaccine carriers we recently received from the DOH.”

Eisma said the biomedical refrigerator can store up to 20,000 vaccine vials. "Additional storage means better supply management of our vaccine allocations," she added.

The donation was turned over by TeleEmpire president and CEO Johannes Lin to SBMA Public Health and Safety Department (PHSD) manager Dr. Solomon Jacalne.

Jacalne said the vaccine refrigerator will allow the SBMA health unit to store vaccines in its own facility rather than getting vaccine supplies from the DOH regional office or from the health office in Olongapo City.

"This donation from TeleEmpire makes it possible for us to get more vaccine allotment from the government," Jacalne pointed out. “It can also be used to store vaccines for flu and other medical preparations.”

TeleEmpire Inc. handed out its donation as a gesture of gratitude for the vaccination of its employees on August 11. The rollout was made possible with the assistance of the SBMA and DOH and benefited the firm’s 280 employees.

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

Eisma also expressed her gratitude to the company for its support, pointing out that if both the private and public sectors worked together, herd immunity could be attained faster in the Subic Bay community.

She said the Subic agency is reaching out to all possible sources of vaccine to ensure that the Subic Bay workforce will all be immunized and protected against the Covid-19 virus. (MPD-SBMA)

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SBMA health unit suspends face-to-face operations

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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OFW repatriation program yields P96-M income for Subic hotels

The government’s repatriation program for distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) has generated about P96 million in income for hotels and accommodation facilities in the Subic Bay area in the last two months, boosting the local tourism industry despite travel restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the new revenue stream comes from room charges for the mandatory quarantine of OFWs and other returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) who are brought home via the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA).  

The hotel charges are paid for by the national government under the Repatriation Assistance Program of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

Eisma said more than 4,300 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have been repatriated through the SBIA ever since the Philippine Airlines (PAL) used Subic as alternate gateway for the repatriation program early last July.

She said 17 OFW flights had arrived in Subic since July, with at least 180 and up to more than 300 passengers per aircraft. While some flights had been diverted to Clark, the arriving passengers were all quarantined here in Subic.

Most of the passengers were land-based workers from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, while some came from Macau. A few arrived with their dependents.

“At around P2,600 per OFW per day, and with the quarantine period ranging from seven to 10 days, hotels earn at least P18,200 or at most P26,000 for each arriving OFW. The more than 4,300 OFWs who have arrived in Subic under the repatriation program therefore translates to about P96 million in total hotel earnings for two months,” Eisma said.

The SBMA chief added that the OFW repatriation program “has been good for local hotels, which have been lacking customers since the pandemic began in March last year.”

“We are also happy to be able to help speed up the government’s repatriation program,” Eisma added.

According to the SBMA Tourism Department, a total of 23 hotels and accommodation facilities with combined capacity of close to a thousand rooms have signed up for the quarantine hotel program. Nineteen of these are in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone and four are in Olongapo City.

Eisma said the SBMA is encouraging more local hotels to sign up with the Department of Tourism for accreditation in the program.

The OFWs are billeted in the local hotels based on availability of rooms. With the latest PAL flights to Subic this month for example, eight Subic Freeport hotels booked a total of 197 passengers while two Olongapo hotels got 137 arrivals on August 12.

On August 20, meanwhile, 189 arriving passengers were accommodated in nine Subic hotels, while an Olongapo hotel billeted 41.

As of August 15, the OWWA said it had repatriated 651,641 pandemic-affected OFWs since the government started the Covid-19 repatriation program in March last year. A total of 391,709 OFWs returned home last year, while 259,932 were brought back to the country this year.

Recently, the OWWA said it needed P7.5 billion more to augment its funds for the repatriation program that it expects to carry out at a rate of 2,000 OFWs each day until the end of this year. (MPD-SBMA)

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Red Cross medical tent to augment Subic hospital’s Covid-19 capacity

The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) has donated a fully air-conditioned medical tent to the Baypointe Hospital here to serve as an extension Covid-19 isolation and treatment unit for possible spillover cases of the highly infectious disease. 

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the medical tent was installed on Wednesday at the emergency admittance area of Baypointe, the only hospital in the Subic Freeport Zone that admits Covid cases from Olongapo City, Bataan and Zambales.

“We have here the hospital tent from the Philippine Red Cross that we hope can help Baypointe catch up with the growing numbers of Covid cases. This tent is fully air-conditioned, has 10 to 20-bed capacity, and will hopefully augment our needs as of this time,” Eisma said on Thursday.

“We are truly grateful that Senator (Richard) Gordon never misses on giving Subic his priority, as we fight a collective battle against this pandemic,” Eisma added. Gordon, who was the first SBMA chairman, is now chairman of the Philippine Red Cross.

Eisma said the medical tent is invaluable to Subic because of the rising number of Covid cases in the locality. “We have to be proactive. We have to be ready. We will not wait until we cannot catch up anymore,” she stressed.

“I will not want Subic to be ill-prepared for what may happen. So, this is one of the first steps that we are doing to make sure that we are ready should the pandemic escalate even more,” Eisma added.

According to Dr. Erlinda Alconga, Baypointe’s expert on infectious diseases, more patients are seeking admittance at the hospital because they have Covid pneumonia, with a total of 68 currently in the waiting list.

“Before our bed capacity for Covid cases was only 29, but now we attend to about 40 to 50 patients at Baypointe,” she added.

Baypointe director Dr. Felicisimo de Castro, meanwhile, said the medical tent is a very welcome gift from the Red Cross and Senator Richard Gordon, who is Red Cross chairman.

“We thank the community for giving support and we acknowledge with much appreciation the help that SBMA is providing us. This will go a long way in alleviating the desperate plight of our patients who wait outside just to be able to gain admission in our hospital, which is now full to capacity,” De Castro also said.

Both Alconga and Eisma also stressed their call for Subic stakeholders to observe minimum health protocols and to get vaccinated.

As of Thursday, August 19, the neighboring city of Olongapo has reported a total of 406 active Covid-19 cases and a total of 3,416 confirmed cases since the pandemic began early last year.

The neighboring province of Zambales, which has shifted back its quarantine status early this week to General Community Quarantine (GCQ) with heightened restrictions, has reported a total of 644 active cases, among the total confirmed cases of 5,156.

On the other hand, the province of Bataan, which is under Extreme Community Quarantine (ECQ), has reported a total of 2,519 active cases, out of the total 15,721 confirmed cases. (MPD-SBMA)

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CSC to confer SBMA with HRM award

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) is set to confer the Bronze Level Award to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) for the Program to Institutionalize Meritocracy and Excellence in Human Resource Management (PRIME-HRM). 

CSC Director IV Fernando Mendoza said in a letter to SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma that the Subic agency merited the award for exemplifying “a process-defined human resource management in all the four core HRM systems under the Enhance Program to Institutionalize Meritocracy and Excellence in Human Resource Management.”

“This award is a manifestation that you all worked hard together to adopt the tools on improving HRM systems. We hope that this award will continue to inspire your agency to embrace PRIME-HRM and take the challenges on reinforcing HR functions,” he added.

The CSC also recognized the role of the agency’s Human Resource Management Office (HRMO) in facilitating the achievement of the award. Fernando also assured the SBMA of continued support and assistance until it reaches the level of strategic HR.

The PRIME-HRM is the CSC’s mechanism to cope up with the current pandemic situation. It said that agencies and human resource management practitioners should look into the post-pandemic role of the HR and prepare for the challenges of recovery.

CSC Chairperson Alicia dela Rosa-Bala said the country’s transition to a post-pandemic world brings to fore the compelling role of HR in preparing government agencies and civil servants for changes in the workplace.

“We should now start planning for a recovery strategy. How will the workplace look like after the pandemic? What will public service delivery look like? What policies and programs do we need to review or to introduce to better adapt to a better normal?” Bala said.

Chairman Eisma, meanwhile, expressed her gratitude to the CSC on behalf of the SBMA and pointed out that the award was the result of the hard work and “malasakit” that the SBMA Human Resource Management Department has shown for all personnel.

She added that the role of the HRMD is vital for the growth of the agency and that providing trainings, rewards, flexible work schedules and other incentives have been instrumental for the SBMA in providing better public service.

CSC will conduct the awarding virtually through the Zoom platform on September 10. The ceremony will be streamed live on the facebook page of CSC Regional Office 3. (MPD-SBMA)

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Second group of A4 workers get jabbed in Subic Freeport

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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SBMA distributes P166.16-M revenue shares to LGUs

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) released on Friday (August 6) a total of P166,167,942.10 representing the 2021 first semester revenue shares for the eight local government units (LGUs) contiguous to the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. 

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the new release is 7.29 % higher than the P154,873,605.57 distributed in the same period last year, although far smaller than the shares given before the Covid-19 pandemic caused economic slowdown among businesses in Subic Freeport.

Eisma said the determination by the SBMA to stop the spread of Covid-19 here, coupled by continuous efforts to develop new revenue streams helped increase the agency’s income this year and subsequently the LGU allocations despite the economic downturn. 

The LGUs that benefit from SBMA revenue shares are Olongapo City, the municipalities of Subic, San Marcelino, Castillejos, and San Antonio in Zambales, and the towns of Dinalupihan, Hermosa, and Morong in Bataan.

For the first semester of 2021, Olongapo City received the highest share amounting to P38,646,910.80, followed by Subic with P25,403,910.86, and Dinalupihan with P20,667,618.91.

The rest received their shares as follows: San Marcelino, P19,914,780.16; Hermosa, P17,301,942.69; Castillejos, P15,553,376.27; Morong, P14,439,842.95; and San Antonio, P14,239,559.46.

Cheques for the LGU shares were turned over to LGU representatives by SBMA Deputy Administrator for Finance Antonietta Sanqui last Friday.

Before this, the SBMA had released LGU shares totaling P656.85 million in the last two years alone. These include P203.13 million in August 2019, P175.73 million in February 2020, P154.87 million in September 2020, and P123.1 million last February.

Meanwhile, LGU executives who attended the turnover of shares said they would use the money to fund various health programs of the LGUs, especially the fight against the Covid-19 virus.

Mayor Elvis Soria of San Marcelino, Zambales said the funds are most welcome “especially these days when the rainy season affects many of our constituents and there’s a need to allocate funds for relief operations.”

Subic Mayor Jonathan John Khonghun, meanwhile, said they would also use part of the money for infrastructure projects like road construction, as well as for scholarship program “now that the school year is going to begin soon.”

The LGU shares are taken from the five-percent taxes paid by business locators in the Subic Bay Freeport and are apportioned among LGUs according to population (50%), land area (25%), and equal sharing (25%).

Republic Act No. 9400, which amended RA 7227 or the Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992, directs the SBMA to allocate two out of the five percent of gross income earned for LGU shares. (MPD-SBMA)

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SBMA posts P1.66-B midyear revenue, other positive measures

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) posted positive records in most of its key performance indicators this year, including a P1.66-billion operating revenue that surpassed last year’s first half profits by 8.62%.

In a report to the Office of the President, SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the Subic agency “capped its 2021 first semester performance with major accomplishments in its key measures” even when a few areas remain impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and recorded actual decline.

“The general trend is upward where the SBMA was able to accelerate growth and surpass its performances in the previous year,” Eisma added in her report dated July 15.

Among the measures showing positive growth from January to July 2021 were operating revenue, port operations, employment, business registration, and import and export performance. Only tourism income, non-containerized cargo volume, and committed investments have yet to pick up, Eisma said.

For starters, SBMA’s operating revenue increased from P1.53 billion in the first six months of 2020 to P1.66 billion in the same period this year. Eisma said that while this was still short by P226 million, or 11.96%, when compared to the pre-pandemic record of P1.88 billion in 2019, “it still shows how fast Subic is able to recover from the effects of the Covid-19 health crisis and the resulting global economic slowdown.”

Subic’s revenue growth in the first half is boosted by a P718-million collection from leases, P685 million from port operations, P189 million from regulatory fees, and P69 million from miscellaneous sources.

Meanwhile, SBMA’s port revenue reached P645.8 million in the first semester, which was 17% higher than last year’s figures. The increase came mainly from a 14%-increase in containerized cargo, which rose from 107,740 TEUs in 2020 to 122,862 TEUs this year, even when non-containerized cargo slid by 2.5% from 3.54 million metric tons in 2020 to 3.46 million MTs this year.

Eisma also pointed out that Subic performed better in terms of import and export, with $842.29 million in imports that was 40% higher than the $601.8 million last year, and $636.8 million in export value that was 86% higher than last year.

Meanwhile, the the Subic Bay Freeport workforce kept growing despite the pandemic. From a total of 134,268 in 2019, it grew to 138,110 by the end of 2020 to 138,964 in the first half of 2021. The services sector employed a total of 101,390 workers or about 73%.

Likewise, even when the 2021 first semester committed investment total of P873.75 million was 14% lower than that of last year’s, the number of registered Subic investors continued to grow from 1,691 in 2019 to 1,706 in 2020 and to 1,744 by midyear 2021.

In terms of tourism, meanwhile, Subic posted a modest grown of 32% with 3.2 million same-day visitors in the first half of 2021; a slight increase in tourist arrivals from 149,951 in 2020 to 206,229 this year; as well as a modest growth in hotel occupancy, which increased from 20% in 2020 to 26.7% this year.

Eisma attributed the growth in key sectors to sound economic policies, best practices in anti-Covid measures, and a vision for renewed growth under the new normal. (MPD-SBMA)

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