DOLE launches “Benteng Bigas Meron na” program in Subic Bay Freeport; benefits 300 workers

Around 300 qualified workers were among the first wave of beneficiaries of the “Benteng Bigas Meron (BBM) na” program launched by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño recalled that when President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. appointed him to lead the agency, he was asked to “take care of Subic Bay workers.”

“Here in Subic Bay, we regard our workers as the bloodline of our economy, and I’m glad that this program would greatly help the minimum wage earners here,” Aliño said. 

The BBM program, in coordination with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Labor Department, was launched yesterday, September 4, 2025, at Cresc Incorporated in the Moonbay Marina, Central Business District here.

SBMA Labor Department manager and OIC-Deputy Administrator for Legal Affairs Atty. Melvin Varias, said that the DOLE-led program aims to bring ₱20-per-kilo rice to the workforce of the Subic Bay Freeport. 

Varias added that the program here, spearheaded by DOLE Chief Labor and Employment Officer Reynante Lugtu, is a flagship program of President Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos Jr. to stabilize rice prices and make basic goods more accessible. 

Kazutomo Murata, Cresc Inc. president, thanked DOLE and SBMA for being chosen as among the first companies to benefit from the program. 

“I am glad that you have President Marcos, who loves you. We don’t have this in Japan,” said Kazutomo. 

Meanwhile, Aliño added that aside from the government programs, the agency has three projects that would benefit the workers, namely: dormitories, to bring workers closer to their place of work; development of the Mini Golf Course into a park, to provide a place for unwinding; and the e-bus, which the agency is working on at least a very minimal fare, if not free. 

The beneficiary workers were given a maximum of ten kilos each, and will be paid through salary deduction by the Cresc Inc. administration.  

Cresc Incorporated is a leading consumable printer ink manufacturer based in Japan. The company is the second company in the Subic Freeport in the printer refilling trade. (MPD-SBMA)

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SBMA Tourism job fair yields 43 HOTS

43 jobseekers emerged as hired-on-the-spot (HOTS) during the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA)’s National Tourism Month Job Fair at the Harbor Point Ayala Mall here on Monday. 

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño said that these 43 HOTS were among the 759 registered applicants for the said job fair, which is part of the agency’s celebration of Tourism Month in Subic Bay Freeport. 

He added that the job fair was participated in by around 50 companies, mostly from the tourism sector of the Freeport, providing 2,600 job vacancies to jobseekers who wish to work here. 

The official expressed his gratitude to participating companies, and government agencies such as the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Zambales Field Office, Public Employment Service Office (PESO) Olongapo, Olongapo City Government and the Olongapo City Tourism Department for partnering with the SBMA to ensure the success of the project. 

 The National Tourism Month Job Fair spearheaded by the SBMA Tourism Department is in collaboration with the SBMA Labor Department. (MPD-SBMA)  

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DOLE, SBMA resumes educational assistance to Freeport stakeholders

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), has resumed offering assistance to students who wish to continue their education while working part-time in this premier Freeport.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Rolen C. Paulino expressed appreciation for this program knowing that it will help less privileged but deserving college students see them through their dream of acquiring a college degree while working.

According to SBMA Labor Department manager Atty. Melvin Varias, the two agencies are offering the Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) to students here who intend to pursue their education by giving financial assistance thru employment.

SPES is DOLE’s youth employment-bridging program that aims to provide temporary employment to poor but deserving students, out-of-school youth, and dependents of displaced or would-be displaced workers during summer or Christmas vacation.

The program was halted for some time when restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic prevented face-to-face interaction, and education went online.

Paulino urged Subic Bay Freeport investors to take part in the said program by providing income or augmenting their income by encouraging the beneficiaries’ employment.

“This will develop the intellectual capacities of children who came from poor families, and harness their potential, not just for the Subic Bay Freeport, but for the country’s well-being as well,” the chief added.

The SPES program stipulates that the company employing the students will only pay 60 percent of their salaries or wages, while the DOLE will pay 40 percent of their wages via education vouchers.

Participating companies here include First Subic Bay Food Ventures, Eddie and Julie G Food Corp, Yahu Uno G Food Corp, Kewen Industry Inc, and Tokiwa Subic Corp. who have already joined the program, with most of these companies under the fast food sector.

Varias said that there were 18 SPES beneficiaries in 2021. Seven of them already received their check voucher; while there are 53 SPES pledges for 2022, and three more companies joining the program.

Deadline for submission of SPES application is March 18.

Requirements for the SPES application include: a resume with 2x2 picture; birth/ baptismal certificate; form 138 for the third grading period for high school students; report of grades or academic class card and enrollment registration form for higher education or college.

The SPES also requires applicants to present their parents’ income tax returns or Bureau of Internal Revenues (BIR) form 2316 duly stamped and received by the agency, and the certificate of indigency or low income issued by the barangay or social welfare and development office of their respective local government units. (MPD-SBMA)

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SBMA, DOLE, DepEd, investors unite to close labor gaps

Government agencies here are now working closely with the education sector and local business locators to harmonize efforts at closing the mismatch between available jobs and available manpower in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone and nearby communities.

Some 1,200 officials from government and private sectors, as well as educators and students, gathered at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center (SBECC) here last week for the Annual Labor Congress organized by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) to tackle the issue of labor gaps.

Among the attendees were representatives from the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE),
Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Public Employment Service Office (PESO), and local government units (LGUs).

SBMA Labor Department manager Severo Pastor Jr. explained that the one-day congress serves as venue to address employment issues, help students choose the right academic or technical course to take in college, and assist the education sector to determine what relevant courses or skills training they should offer.

“Most often, students enrolled in courses that are not suitable for jobs offered by investors in the Freeport, or that courses that would likely get more employment offers were not offered in schools,” Pastor noted.

As both these case result in employment gaps, Pastor said the academe should take necessary actions to address the skills-employment mismatch by offering courses relevant to the skills needed in the locality, particularly by Subic investor-companies.

“There should be a continuous flow of skilled or professional workers needed by investors in the Subic Freeport, so that we can sustain the local economy,” he also said.

SBMA records indicate that there are now a total of 1,587 business locators in the Subic Freeport, with more than 134,000 workers employed.

Meanwhile, Dir. Ben-Hur Baniqued Jr., head of TESDA- Zambales, revealed that as of October 2017, there are 7.8 million workers available in Region III. However, unemployment in the region is at 76%, which is way higher than the national average, he added.

“Underemployment (in the region) is tremendous,” Baniqued remarked. He said that while the government is considering Central Luzon as an alternative hub to decongesting Metro Manila, the industries, especially investors in the Subic Freeport, must help the academic sector by providing free training to students through on-the-job programs to further develop the local workforce.

At present, Baniqued said, there are about 430 private institutions in Region III that provide more than 2,000 Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programs for aspiring job applicants.

In the same forum, SBMA Deputy Administrator for Business and Investment Kenneth Rementilla painted a rosy picture for job generation in the Subic Bay Freeport, pointing out that the SBMA has been actively promoting business in Subic through investment missions abroad.

He added that the Subic agency has been hugely successful in drawing new investments, mostly in manufacturing, as well as leisure and tourism sectors.

Rementilla also said that because the Subic Bay Freeport is largely located within the fenced-in portion of the former US military facility here, the SBMA is now looking into expansion schemes to address the shortage of land area for further business development and to create more jobs for local workers. (RAV/MPD-SBMA)


PHOTOS:

[1] Business locators, students and teachers, as well as concerned government agencies attend the Labor Congress organized by the SBMA on June 28 at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)

[2] SBMA Deputy Administrator for Business and Investment Kenneth Rementilla (center) and PMAP-Subic President Edith Geniza hand over a certificate of appreciation to TESDA Provincial Director Ben-Hur Baniqued Jr. after he addressed the Labor Congress held at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center on June 28. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)

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Subic firms absorb 2,557 ‘endo’ workers

Some 2,557 “endo” or contractual workers referred for regularization by 17 manpower service providers here were recently absorbed by their respective companies in compliance with the Department of Labor and Employment order, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority’s (SBMA) Labor Department said in a report.

A memo received by SBMA Administrator Wilma Eisma dated August 16, 2017, stated that Sushicor, a subcontractor of Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines, referred a total of 1,219 workers from its six manpower subcontractors for regularization, among them: AJB Construction Services and Supply,380 workers; Rocafor General Construction Services, 310; Junior General Services, 292; Seawolf Airconditioning Contractors Inc,126; SR Marine, 80 and IRDG Engineering Services and Supply, 31.

The Subic Gateway Park, a Taiwanese industrial park in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone

Jeannies Touch Manpower Solutions Inc. referred 50 contractual workers to Nidec and 300 to Juken Sangyo for regularization.

A total of 422 workers, on the other hand, were referred by Powerlane to Lindberg, 150 as regulars; 120 to Nidec; 97 absorbed by Sanyo Denki; 42 to Mang Inasal and 13 by Yellow Cab Pizza.

Similarly, 103 workers referred by Sameer Global Manpower Services, Inc. for regularization were absorbed by Datian Shoes; 36 by Hitachi Airconditioning; seven were taken in by Kewen and five to Ropali referred.

Ocean Adventure also absorbed 20 workers referred for regularization by its manpower service provider, Total Staffing Skills.

Thirty-six contractual workers were referred by Buchan Global Services Co. to its clients Lighthouse Marina, Chia Hung and Subicwater.

The SCCD Corp., on the other hand, recommended for regularization 20 workers toTrident, 10 to Lindberg and 16 to Ringsthree.

A total of 78 workers were referred by Executive Genesis for regularization with Hokei taking in 40; Glarfab, 20; Espresso,15 and Steelfab, three.

Also 33 workers from service provider Dictado were absorbed by Meatplus. Of the 38 referred by Sol Manpower, 28 were taken in by Crese, eight by Ringsthree and two were absorbed by Lighthouse.

AZ Contracting System Service, Inc. referred 55 for regularization to Nicera, Cresc and Koushin; Koryo absorbed 50 workers; Materion Advanced Materials hired seven and Trident hired one from manpower service provider Nozomi. (Patrick Roxas, Manila Times)

http://www.manilatimes.net/subic-firms-absorb-2557-endo-workers/347111/

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Central Luzon workers get pay hike

Workers in Central Luzon will soon get higher pay after the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) approved on Wednesday (Dec. 9) the newest wage order for the provinces of Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said in a statement that Wage Order No. RB III-19, which raises by P15 per day the minimum wage for workers in the six provinces and P20 per day in Aurora has been unanimously approved.

“We have unanimously affirmed the wage order for workers in retail and services establishments with less than 16 workers,” Baldoz said, adding that the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) was able to meet its target that all of the country’s 30 minimum wage rates will be above the poverty threshold level before President Aquino’s term ends.

“This is a victory not only for Filipino workers but for all Filipinos,” Baldoz said.

The increase of P15 per day in Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales will be given in two tranches: the first P8 upon implementation of the wage order and the next P7 on May 1 next year.

Similarly, for Aurora province, the increase of P20 per day shall also be given in two tranches. The first tranche of P10 will be given upon the implementation of the order and the additional P10 on May 1, 2016.

Dole Regional Director Ana Dione said that with the pay hike, the minimum wage in Central Luzon now stands at P364 per day.

“With the increase, the highest minimum wage in the region is now P364, which is above the poverty threshold of P248 for a family of five as of December 2012,” she said.

The latest Dole-NWPC wage order applies to all minimum wage earners in the private sector in Central Luzon regardless of position, designation, status of employment, and methods by which the wages are paid.

Those who are not covered by the wage order are “kasambahays” and persons employed in personal service of another, including family drivers and workers of barangay micro business enterprises.

In issuing the wage order, the Regional Wage Board encourages establishments to adopt productivity improvement schemes such as time and motion studies, good housekeeping, quality circles, and labor management cooperation, as well as to implement gain sharing programs.

“Complaints for non-compliance with Wage Order RB III-19 shall be filed with Dole Regional Office III and shall be subject of enforcement proceedings under Article 128 of the Labor Code,” Dione said.

Any person, corporation, trust, or firm, partnership, association, or entity which refuses or fails to pay the prescribed wage rates shall be subject to penal provisions under Republic Act 6727, or the Minimum Wage Fixing Law. (JTD/Sun.Star Pampanga)

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/local-news/2015/12/11/central-luzon-workers-get-pay-hike-446459

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