Subic’s Lighthouse Resort goes green with beach clean up, Eco-Art

Hundreds of residents and stakeholders in this free port joined hands to protect the environment during the Annual Summer Beach Clean-up organized here by The Lighthouse Marina Resort and the International Yachting Fellowship of Rotarians (IYFR).

The clean-up, held during the early hours of March 25 at the beach front area of the Moonbay Marina Complex, was joined mostly by students from local schools like the Mondriaan Aura College, St. Joseph’s College, and Olongapo City National High School.

Representatives from civic groups, locator companies, and tourism-related establishments also took time to help clean up the beach area.

The activity was followed by a junk art workshop conducted by environmental artists from Baguio City known as the “Junk Artists”, who coached student-participants in creating art works from junk.

The participants used trash collected during the clean-up as materials for their junk art. The artworks will be judged by a panel composed of IYFR leaders.

According to Jun Avecilla, CEO of The Lighthouse Marina Resort, organizers of the cleanup want to spread the mission of taking care of the environment.

Avecilla said that the Lighthouse group and the IYFR are committed to preserving the environment and have conducted tree planting activities across the Philippines, including about 1,000 trees at the Angat watershed and the La Mesa Ecopark.

During the Subic activity, the group also planted coconut trees along the beach front area near the Lighthouse Resort.

A day before the clean-up, the organizers also opened the Eco-Art Exhibit, which featured Nature paintings, including artworks by Filipino watercolorist Adriano "Boy" Valino. The activities were held in a run-up to the Earth Hour, which was held the following day, March 26.

Ameth Dela Llana-Koval, manager of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority’s Ecology Center, said in a message delivered during the Eco-Art Exhibit launch that people “should take baby steps to stop climate change.”

She also noted that activities such as planting trees and participating in the Earth Hour by turning off electrical appliances maybe considered small steps, but these would make a big impact if people would do it together.

The Subic Bay beach clean-up was made possible in cooperation with the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce, various RotaryClubs, and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. (SBMA Corporate Communications)

PHOTO:
Stakeholders help clean up Subic’s waterfront during the annual summer beach cleanup organized by The Lighthouse Marina Resort in the Subic Bay Freeport.

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Subic traders want review of Japan truck-import

Importers of used vehicles in this free port are urging the government to reconsider the admission here of right-hand drive vehicles from Japan under Executive Order (EO) 887-A, which bans the entry into the country of imported used cars but allows the importation of used trucks, buses and special-purpose vehicles.

According to Ben Perez, managing director of Subic-based vehicle importer Ichiban Import-Export Corp., used-vehicle traders in Subic are requesting the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to amend the proposed implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of EO 877-A, or the Comprehensive Motor Vehicle Development Program.

He said the DTI should go easy on used-vehicle imports, particularly those from Japan, as they constitute the bulk of used-motor vehicles that are now used in local industries as well as infrastructure-development projects in the country.

 “Both left-hand drive and right-hand drive trucks should be allowed to be imported through the Subic Bay Freeport since 90 percent of all [right-hand-drive] trucks arriving here are from Japan,” Perez said in a statement on Tuesday.

 “Vehicle importers here are all willing to accept EO 877-A, but [there should not be] additional requirements such as release certificate (RC) since documentary safeguards required by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority’s (SBMA) Seaport Department and the Bureau of Customs are already in place,” Perez added.

Perez said that in particular, Section 3.C of the IRR, which allowed the importation of left-hand trucks, buses and special-purpose vehicles, should also allow the entry of right-hand drives from Japan, as recommended by Committee Report 2157 of the 12th Congress on June 12, 2004.

Section 4.A.2 of the IRR, which requires imported vehicles to have roadworthiness and emission-compliance certificate from the country of origin, to be duly authenticated by the Philippine embassy or consulate, must be stricken out because the Japanese government would not issue such a certificate, he added.

Perez pointed out that the required roadworthiness and emission certificate only becomes a duplication because the SBMA already requires a comprehensive test on all imported trucks entering Subic prior to their registration with the Land Transportation Office. As of now, three motor vehicle-inspection centers are operating here: the Vehicle Inspection and Testing Corp., the Subic Bay Motor Vehicle Inspection (SBMI), and the Automotive Testing Emission Center Inc.

Perez contested Section 4.A.5 of the IRR, which calls for a release certificate (RC) to be given by a representative from the DTI’s Bureau of Import Services (BIS).

“The release certificate should not be issued by the DTI-BIS representative alone, as this could easily be a source of corruption. Instead, the RC should be issued after an ocular inspection by the Interagency Committee of Used Trucks and Engines Technical Working Group, together with the SBMA Seaport Department,” Perez said.

Subic traders are also suggesting that the Board of Investments (BOI) should come up with a schedule of fees that would be valid for from three to five years, with proportionate increases over the years.

Local importers are also requesting Trade Undersecretary Cristino Panlilio, who is also manager of the BOI, to conduct another public consultation at the Subic Freeport so that local stakeholders could air their opinion on the matter before the IRR becomes effective, Perez added.

 EO 887-A, which was signed by then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in June 2010, allowed the importation of used-motor vehicles with gross vehicle weight of from 2.5 tons to 6 tons and above, as well as special-purpose vehicles like firetrucks and ambulances.

However, the EO required that the used vehicles as well as used engines, parts and components should have a Certificate of Authority to Import (CAI) and RC from the DTI-BIS.

The CAI is issued only if the vehicle import has a roadworthiness and emission-compliance certificate from the country of origin which must also show compliance with Philippine roadworthiness and emission standards. The CAI is valid only for a period of 60 days under a letter of credit.

The RC from the DTI-BIS is required for the vehicle to be released from the Bureau of Customs and be registered with the Land Transportation Office. (Henry Empeño, Business Mirror)

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Flying V to put up solar-powered stations in Clark, Subic

CLARK FREEPORT — Leading independent player Flying V is set to pioneer a new innovation in the petrol industry as it plans to establish solar-powered gasoline stations.

Ramiro Villavicencio, project proponent director of the solar-powered gas station, said pilot areas will be this Freeport and Subic Bay Freeport Zone in Zambales by mid-second quarter of this year.

“Nearly everything we do in our modern society requires energy that is generated by burning fossil fuels, contributing to the carbon footprint which effectively harms our environment,” Villavicencio said.

“This move by Flying V won’t solve the environment and energy problems the world is experiencing; however this is part of our corporate social responsibility and we are doing our part to address such problems,” said Villavicencio.

He added that the advocacy is in support of clean and alternative energy, which is in line with the government’s Clean Air Act.

Villavicencio explained that the said solar-powered gas station will be equipped with solar panels that will energize approximately 25 percent of the facility's electric consumption, effectively minimizing carbon footprints.

He also said that the pilot stations will have self-service pumps, which are targeted to give consumers cheaper fuel.

The proposed solar-powered gas station is also one way of trying to change the mind-set of the Filipino people on how to be more conscious about our environment, he added.

Fling V has been actively supporting and promoting the use of alternative fuels, pioneering the sale of bio-diesel in the country.

The company has also been given due recognition by the national government for its active participation in its programs. (Reynaldo G. Navales, Sun Star Pampanga)

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SCAD to harmonize policies with Subic, Clark freeports

The Subic- Clark Alliance for Development (SCAD) is set to speed up harmonization of policies and regulations between the Subic Bay Freeport (SBF) and Clark Freeport Zone (CFZ).

SCAD chairman Nestor S. Mangio said this came on the heels of a recent meeting of the Central Luzon Regional Development Council (RDC-III), where a draft of the Central Luzon Medium Term Regional Development Plan 2011-2016 (MTRDP) was presented.

The plan, he said, underscored, among others, the need for integrated land, air and sea transport modes. SCAD has been a member of RDC-III since 2006.

In a statement, Mangio said the need for a transport mode interconnecting the two freeport zones was one of the strategies identified and included in the MTRDP draft, to ensure sustainable growth that would effectively reduce poverty in Central Luzon.

“In the past we have coordinated the completion of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, SCTex Pampanga Interchanges and Access Roads, New Container Terminals in the Port of Subic Bay, and the Passenger Terminal of Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark.

“These infrastructures have been serving the locators and the general public. This year, we will be coordinating more with growth partners and the private sector with regard to policy structures to find ways to further harmonize policies and regulations between the two freeports to attract more investments,” Mangio said.

Under the draft, SCAD is in charge of developing a “Global Gateway Program” aimed at strengthening the linkages between Subic, Clark and Tarlac’s industrial estate.

SCADC is a government office mandated to rationalize resources and harmonize policies and strategies that shall ensure an integrated and coordinated approach to the development of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Corridor as a world-class mega logistics hub and global gateway to the Asia-Pacific Region.

It is composed of the Department of Trade and Industry, Bases Conversion and Development Authority, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Clark Development Corporation, North Luzon Railways Corporation, and Clark International Airport Corporation.

Covering five kilometers on each side of SCTEx, the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Corridor is a vast expanse of 98,000 hectares straddling between and across 10 municipalities of Zambales, Bataan, Pampanga and Tarlac, and the cities of Olongapo, Angeles, and Tarlac. (U.S. News Agency / Asian)

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