Ocean Adventure launches donation drive to keep animals alive

Ocean Adventure, the biggest tourism operator in this Freeport, is launching a donation drive to keep its animals alive and well amid the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) period.

Robert Ianne Gonzaga, president and chief executive officer of Subic Bay Marine Exploratorium Inc. (SBMEI), operator of Ocean Adventure, Adventure Beach Waterpark and Camayan Resort Hotel here, said in a statement Tuesday that the fund drive for the animals is an unprecedented but necessary step for them to do.

Gonzaga said that since the implementation of ECQ last March, their revenues have gone down to zero and will remain so for the short-term while the costs and expenses remain high due to the caring and feeding of animals and maintenance of the facilities.

“We rely only on our revenues to deliver the best of care for our animals and to ensure that they are in a safe and secure environment, with expert support available from our vets and caretakers," he said.

Ocean Adventure, which is responsible for attracting hundreds of thousands of guests and visitors to Subic Freeport every year, has been grappling with the negative impacts of the lockdown.

Last month, it retrenched more than 200 of its employees and placed the remaining 300 on forced leave.

"The disruption this pandemic has caused is unprecedented and likely to last for quite some time into the future, even after the quarantine is lifted. Our attendance numbers started plummeting in late January as concern for Covid-19 began to spread, and it got worse in February, which forced us to retrench workers in March -- days before the entire Luzon was put under lockdown. Now, all our businesses have shut down, aside from the hotel which is operating with a skeletal force. There is a lot of pain being felt across the entire tourism industry,” Gonzaga said.

SBMA chairman and administrator Wilma Eisma had earlier required manufacturing firms which continue to operate according to the guidelines of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to house their employees inside the Subic Freeport.

This enabled some hotels here to remain operational with a skeletal crew, catering to guests in essential industries -- the only source of income for the duration of the lockdown.

In a statement posted on its official website, the SBMEI said the donations that the fund drive will generate will be used to purchase animal food, medicine, and vitamins, help support the animal caretakers, divers and volunteers who maintain their enclosures, veterinarians and lab technicians who provide for the health care of the animals, and pay for utilities for pumps, freezers and other equipment for the care of the animals.

"We currently have enough food for our animals to last to the beginning of June, however, since we do not expect to generate any revenue anytime soon, we are trying to raise funds to feed and support our animals for the rest of the year 2020,” Gonzaga said.

“The path to recovery is going to be long and hard, not just for our company but for everyone else in the tourism industry. That said, our animals at Ocean Adventure cannot make it through without external support in the months ahead. But we believe that with your help, nothing is impossible,” he added. (Mahatma Datu,PNA)

PHOTO:

Dolphins and their trainer at the Ocean Adventure in Subic Bay Freeport.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1101329

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Covid-19 mass testing in Subic Freeport begins early May

A mass testing program to detect new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infections in the greater Subic Bay Freeport area is expected to begin here early next month under a partnership between the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the PRC is putting up a laboratory at the Naval Magazine area in this Freeport and expects to receive testing equipment by April 29 and accreditation by the Department of Health (DOH) thereafter.

“Under this schedule we expect to begin mass testing here in the first week of May at the earliest,” Eisma said.

On Sunday, Eisma and PRC Secretary General Elizabeth Zavalla inspected the PRC Molecular Laboratory at the Naval Magazine area here, a project approved by PRC Chairman and Senator Richard Gordon at the behest of the SBMA chief.

According to Zavalla, the equipment for the state of the art laboratory will include an automated RNA extraction machine that can run 90 samples per hour, as well as two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines that can each process 1,000 samples a day for a daily turnout of 2,000 tests.

Zavalla said the Red Cross is only using the PCR testing method because it is more reliable and accurate.

She added that the DOH’s Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM, the government’s lead agency in the prevention and control of infectious diseases, would have to inspect the facility prior to operation.

Eisma said the mass testing program will be open to the public, but suspected and probable cases (previously known respectively as persons under monitoring, or PUMs, and persons under investigation, or PUIs) will be the priority.

“Frontline workers in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, SBMA employees, as well as Freeport residents will also be prioritized, but we will also reach out to local government units (LGUs) in the neighboring communities of Olongapo City, Zambales and Bataan so that their constituents can benefit from the program,” she added.

Eisma also pointed out that the SBMA is working out a scheme with the PRC so that the public can also use the Red Cross hotline 1158 in making appointments for testing.

To facilitate the mass testing program, the SBMA will put up swabbing centers at Freeport main gate area for the collection of samples for testing.

“Once the samples are collected, these will be validated and sent to the Red Cross laboratory for testing, and the results could be obtained in about two days,” Eisma said.

The SBMA pushed for the mass testing program the other week as the call for mass testing resounded widely.
Eisma said earlier that mass testing would provide “a good reading of the prevalence of the outbreak with the end-view of safely lifting the ECQ in order to get the Subic businesses running again.”

“If we don’t undertake mass-testing, we’d be fighting Covid-19 blindly. We have to get a better grasp of the situation so that we can act accordingly,” Eisma added.

The SBMA has been initiating solutions to protect the local community from the virus threat. Aside from the mass testing program, the Subic agency also established two care and isolation facilities at the Subic Gym and the former Leciel Hotel for use in case of a surge in Covid-19 cases. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

[1] The Philippine Red Cross Molecular Laboratory will house the equipment for Covid-19 mass testing in the Subic Bay Freeport.

[2] SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma and PRC Secretary-General Elizabeth Zavalla inspect the Philippine Red Cross Molecular Laboratory in the Subic Bay Freeport on Sunday.

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Subic firm ramps up production of ventilator parts

A Japanese company in this premier free port zone is trying to cope with great demand for cooling fans used in mechanical ventilators, which are critical medical equipment used in caring for patients infected by the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

Sanyo Denki Philippines, Inc. (SDPI), a locator at the Subic Techno Park (STEP) here, also used to manufacture uninterruptible power supply (UPS) units, servo amplifiers and stepping motors, but has now devoted its operations to producing cooling fans, said company president Koichi Uchibori.

Uchibori and SDPI design manager Ted Yamazaki, who met with Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma on Monday when the SBMA official visited the company’s factory, said there is growing demand for cooling fans these days because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Yamazaki said that the company’s cooling fans are used by companies like Siemens, Inogen and Hitachi for various medical equipment, including mechanical ventilators that move breathable air into and out of the lungs of patients who are physically unable to breathe.

But due to the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) rules that required export-oriented businesses to house their staff within the Freeport zone, Uchibori said that company operations have been drastically reduced to 10 percent of the previous capacity.

“The number of cooling fans we produced monthly used to reach 80,000, but we can only produce from 6,000 to 10,000 units now,” Uchibori lamented.

As of last February when the ECQ was not yet in place, Sanyo Denki had a total of 4,273 as workers, including those under contract with manpower services. Uchibori said the company now operates with only 600 workers who are housed in various hotels inside the Subic Bay Freeport.

“It is expensive keeping them in hotels, and also paying them double,” Uchibori noted. “Still we are ready to take in more, but the problem now is where to house them,” he added.

Uchibori also said that despite the huge overhead for the company’s current operations, SDPI is not charging their customers any extra amount for their in-demand products.

Aside from ventilators, the firm’s cooling fans are also used in X-ray and MRI machines, virus DNA analyzers, blood analyzers, and portable oxygen concentrators.

With this, Chairman Eisma assured Sanyo Denki officials that the SBMA will help in easing up the supply chain for the company because of its vital role in the fight against Covid-19.

She also expressed gratitude to the company and its workers for continuing to produce the vital components needed for ventilators and other medical equipment.

“We will help you find ways so that shipment of your raw materials won’t be delayed, and so that you can employ more workers to step up production of this very important product,” Eisma told Uchibori and Yamazaki.

“Subic salutes you for your important role in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic,” she added. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

Workers inspect component parts before installation in cooling fans produced by Subic firm Sanyo Denki for various medical equipment like ventilators and virus DNA analyzers.

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SBMA eyeing Covid-19 mass-testing facility

After putting up two care and isolation facilities to help protect the local community from the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19), the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) now seeks to establish here a mass-testing facility that can carry out up to 2,000 tests a day.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the agency will implement the mass-testing project in partnership with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) “so that we can get a good grasp of the situation and act accordingly.”

“The testing will be open to the public, although the suspected and probable cases (previously known respectively as persons under monitoring, or PUMs, and persons under investigation, or PUIs) will be the priority,” Eisma said.

“We shall also coordinate with PhilHealth for the mechanics because they’re supposed to provide free coverage for indigent patients, but others would have to pay at cost,” she added.

Under the plan, the SBMA will put up at least two telephone booth-type swabbing centers at the Subic Bay Freeport main gate, where health workers will collect swab samples from patients.

“Once the samples are collected, these will be validated and sent to the Red Cross logistics and training center at the Naval Magazine area for testing,” Eisma said.

She added that the PRC testing facility is now being built to house testing equipment that include an automated RNA extraction machine that can run 90 samples per hour, as well as two polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machines that can complete up to a combined total of 2,000 tests a day.

Senator Richard Gordon, who is chairman of the Philippine Red Cross, said the PRC is using polymerase chain reaction-based test kits to ensure accuracy.

The SBMA sounded out this plan as public clamor for mass-testing resonated widely, with experts saying that it could further optimize the government’s quarantine strategy and prevent further loss of lives.

Locally, Eisma said that mass-testing would also help the government and the Freeport authority in particular, “to get a good reading of the prevalence of the outbreak with the end-view of safely lifting the ECQ in order to get the Subic businesses running again.”

“If we don’t undertake mass-testing, we’d be fighting Covid-19 blindly. We have to get a better grasp of the situation so that we can act accordingly,” Eisma added.

The SBMA has been initiating solutions to the growing health risks that the local community faced because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Before this, the Subic agency established two care and isolation facilities at the Subic Gym and the former Leciel Hotel using its own funds and some donations from private companies, civic organizations and concerned individuals.

These facilities will be used in the event that positive cases exceeded the capacity at the Baypointe Hospital in the Subic Freeport, which has admitted patients from Zambales, Olongapo City and Bataan.

As of April 18, Zambales has reported nine confirmed cases of Covid-19 with two recoveries, while Olongapo listed nine cases with one recovery, and Bataan province 80 cases with 15 recoveries. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

Two Covid-19 swabbing booths are being prepared for the mass-testing program of the SBMA. The booths have glass partitions to separate the health worker who will take swab samples from the patient who will stay outside the booth.

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Subic Freeport ‘surge’ facilities ready next week

Two care and isolation facilities being prepared by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) for use in case of a surge in new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases will be ready here by next week.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said on Wednesday that the two facilities—the former Leciel Hotel and the Subic gymnasium here—will be properly equipped this weekend with equipment and supplies provided by corporate and individual donors.

“We now have two facilities ready in case of a surge in Covid-19 patients, and I thank the companies and individuals in Subic for their support of this SBMA initiative and their concern for the welfare of the community in general,” Eisma said.

“The SBMA provided the two locations and some basic equipment, and now various companies and stakeholder groups are pitching in with personal protection equipment (PPE), supplies, even food and transport services so that our frontliners can do their job,” she added.

Eisma on Wednesday received from PMFTC Inc. a total of 50 collapsible hospital beds, which are the latest of the major donations received by the SBMA. These will be installed at the converted Subic gym.

Eisma also said that the SBMA management is requesting the agency’s Board of Directors to approve the hiring of 34 medical personnel on a project contract basis, “so that we can fully utilize these two care and isolation facilities.”

The Subic gym, which now houses 32 isolation tents, as well as work and rest quarters for medical care personnel, was inspected also on Wednesday by medical personnel from Baypointe Hospital and Medical Center, where most local Covid-19 cases are admitted.

Dr. Erlinda Alconga, an expert in tropical and infectious diseases who runs the Coviod-19 unit at Baypointe, said the Leciel Hotel facility, which is just two blocks away from the hospital, would be an ideal place to house additional Covid-19 patients coming in from nearby areas.

“In case of a surge in the number of patients received at Baypointe, all positive patients will be moved to the Subic gym while the Leciel facility would be used to monitor cases of PUI (person under investigation),” she said.

Eisma also told Alconga and other Baypointe staff that the SBMA is now arranging living quarters for nurses and other medical staff at the Leciel facility, which will be ready for occupancy this Friday.

The SBMA chief also assured the Baypointe medical team that the SBMA would provide for all the needs of health workers who would be assigned to the two SBMA isolation facilities.

“SBMA will be here with you because the Subic Bay Freeport cannot turn its back and will not turn its back to its neighbors in Zambales and Olongapo and other areas. Laban nating lahat ito,” Eisma said.

Meanwhile, the SBMA acknowledged donors of materials for its care and isolation facilities. These include the International Recreation Corp. (IREC); National Bookstore; Tong Lung (Phils) Metal Industry; JC Salas Builders and Design Services Inc.; DML Subic Freeport Corp.; and Polarmarine, Inc.

The SBMA also thanked donors of supplies, equipment and services like: Apollo Subic Int’l Trading; Coldwater Creek and Marketing; Datian Subic Shoes; EPEE Corp.; Fashion Institute of Subic; GrainPro Philippines Inc.; HHIC-Phil Inc. (Mr. Nack Young Kim); Juken Sangyo; Lino Khan Trading; M Bernardino Culinary Institute; Oscar Santos; MSK Group of Companies; Nichol Bento; PacTec Subic Inc.; Philippines Easpal; and Royal Duty free Shops.

Other donors are: Sakura Restaurant; SBMA EWMPC; Seafood By The Bay; Skipper Pineda; Subic Auto Trucks & Machinery, Ltd.; Subic Bay Freeport Grains Terminal; Subic Bay Multi-purpose Cooperative; Subic Boardwalk Inc.; Subic Line Foods (Chowking Petron); Sweet Finale; Tele Empire Inc.; Tong Lung (Phils) Metal Industry; United Auctioneers Inc.; Upsilon Sigma Phi; Asian Dragon; Econest Waste Management Corp.; Ekxinum Inc.; Great Empire Gaming & amusement Corp.; International Freeport Exchange Trader Inc.-Subic; Northfolk Int’l Technology Inc.; and the Subic Korean community. (MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

[1] SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma (right) discusses facility requirements with infectious diseases expert Dr. Erlinda Alconga and other Baypointe Hospital medical staff during an inspection of the SBMA care and isolation facility at the Subic gym on Wednesday.

[2] SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma (left) discusses facility requirements with Dr. Erlinda Alconga, tropical and infectious diseases expert, and other Baypointe medical staff during an inspection of the SBMA care and isolation facility at the Subic gym on Wednesday.

[3] Dr. Erlinda Alconga, tropical and infectious diseases expert at Baypointe Hospital in the Subic Bay Freeport (right), gestures as she discusses health protocols with SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma (second from left) during an inspection of the SBMA care and isolation facility at the Subic gym on Wednesday.

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Subic chapel masses go live streaming for Holy Week

In face of quarantine rules that prohibit mass gatherings to prevent transmission of the new coronavirus (Covid-19), masses and other religious activities at the San Roque Chapel here will be streamed live on the Internet during the Holy Week.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma Eisma said the first live streaming, which involved the simultaneous recording and broadcasting of the event in real time, covered the Palm Sunday mass celebrated at 9:00 a.m. today, April 5, by Fr. Audie Mozo Jr.

It was simultaneously broadcast live on the facebook pages of 89.5 Subic Bay Radio, an FM channel operated by the SBMA, and FUNtastic Subic Bay, the agency’s official tourism page, Eisma said.

The online broadcast of the holy mass here was the response of the SBMA and St. Columban Parish to the directive of Bishop Bartolome Santos, Jr. of the Diocese of Iba that “all celebrations shall be done on live stream so that people can virtually participate.”

The directive, dated the March 21, also indicated that the religious activities were to be programmed “so that we make our celebrations in the diocese simultaneously.”

To make the live streaming of religious activities here possible, Eisma said the SBMA Tourism Department consulted with Fr. Mozo, the parish priest of the Columban Church in Olongapo City, and came up with the following schedule for the San Roque Chapel:

• April 5 and 12: Sunday masses — live streaming at 9:00 AM;
• April 9: Evening mass of the Lord’s Supper — live streaming at 5:00 PM; and
• April 11: Easter vigil mass — live streaming at 7:00 PM.

Meanwhile, the directive from the Diocese of Iba also indicated that the processions on Holy Thursday and Good Friday may be undertaken with the public observing social distancing.

“After the Commemoration of the Lord’s Passion, without the faithful, the presider rides a pick up vehicle as he carries a Crucifix and goes to all the streets of the parish (and) people with lighted candles shall wait in front of their homes to venerate the Cross by kneeling down,” the directive said.

It added that because of the enforced curfew hours, the traditional “Salubong” will be omitted this year and may transferred to one of the Sundays of May.

Bishop Santos also said that the Chrism mass will be celebrated on April 30, Thursday, “to give our people the chance to participate in this joyful gathering.” He said the Vatican has given bishops the authority to change the date of the Chrism mass to a more suitable schedule. (MPD/SBMA)

PHOTO:

Schedule of Holy Week masses at the San Roque Chapel to be streamed live over SBMA's social media accounts.

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SBMA seeks help in tracing contacts of Subic PUI

Authorities in this Freeport on Tuesday (March 31) said they are reaching out for help in tracing the contacts of a government diver here who recently tested positive for the new coronavirus (Covid-19) infection.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the agency will seek assistance from officials of Olongapo City and other areas where the patient had recently traveled in order to avert further virus transmission among his contacts.

“We are in a bind here because while the PUI (person under investigation) is a crew member of one of the NAMRIA ships berthed in Subic Bay, we have learned that he has relatives and a family in two Olongapo barangays and that he has visited them recently,” Eisma said.

“What also compounds the problem is that in the intervening period between his confinement and possible date of infection, he had travelled to Mindoro via Manila and Batangas to visit his family and friends there,” Eisma added.

According to information gathered by the SBMA Incident Management Team (IMT), the PUI is a crewmember of one of the four survey ships of the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) berthed in Subic Bay. The agency is under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The patient first complained of fever and body pains on March 10, after cleaning the ship’s hull with fellow divers near Grande Island.

Thereafter he consulted doctors at Baypointe Hospital on March 12, and again on March 13. In the afternoon of March 13, he picked up his sister in Olongapo and, with her, consulted again at St. Jude’s Hospital in the City.

In the next two days he stayed on his ship, the hydrographer BRP Palma, which was docked at Subic’s Bravo Wharf.

On March 16, he consulted doctors at the Our Lady of Lourdes International Medical Center in Olongapo but denied history of travel and, thus, was admitted on suspicion that he had dengue fever.

When dengue tests proved negative the following day, he finally admitted travel but denied going out of his vehicle. Swab samples taken on March 21 yielded positive results of Covid-19 infection on March 29.

According to the PUI’s ship commander, his subordinate has been regularly taking “ship liberties” during evenings ever since their ship returned to Subic in December last year until March 7. But he denied knowing his subordinate’s whereabouts during those nights out because the latter did not sleep on the ship.

It was also ascertained that before he fell ill, the PUI travelled to Mindoro on March 6, stayed with friends and family in Mindoro on March 7 and 8, then went back to his ship in Subic on March 9.

Eisma said that while personal information about PUIs are normally withheld for privacy reasons, this particular case needs the attention of concerned agencies and local government units because it could potentially increase local virus transmission.

“There should not be any quarrel about whether to classify the PUI as a resident of the Subic Bay Freeport or Olongapo City, or even of Mindoro because that doesn’t matter at all,” Eisma said. “What matters is that we know he has been in all these areas and we might have an outbreak in our hands if we don’t act immediately to identify his contacts.”

Eisma said that the PUI has been described as in stable condition, has good appetite, and took phone calls from the SBMA-IMT for pertinent information.

Meanwhile, his ship was quarantined on March 16 and was eventually brought to anchorage farther out on the bay on March 29. His fellow crewmembers aboard BRP Palma are currently in stable condition and do not show any symptom, Eisma added. (MPD-SBMA)

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