Subic Freeport gears up for tourism month

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) is enjoining the public to visit the Subic Bay Freeport in September to enjoy a month-long celebration that features the unique sounds and colors of Subic Bay.

SBMA Chairman Roberto Garcia said the Subic agency has lined up various activities showcasing the best of the region’s most visited tourism destination in line with this year’s theme, “Tourism for All, Promoting Universal Accessibility” of the National Tourism Month.

Garcia said that next month’s celebration will highlight the sound of entertainment and excitement unique to Subic, as well as the colors that invigorate the sights and adventures that visitors and locals enjoy in the Freeport.

“This will not be another ordinary month in Subic. We have prepared various tourism-related competitions, which will give you a chance to win prizes, or you can simply enjoy your stay in the Freeport as spectators,” he continued.

SBMA Tourism Department head Mary Jamelle Camba added that the month-long tourism celebration here will officially kick off on September 5 with a motorcade, followed by a trade and photo exhibit, and a job fair.

The month-long trade and photo exhibits, which will be held at the Harbor Point Mall, will feature photographs taken from favorite tourist destinations in Subic, as well as various produce from Zambales and Bataan.

Meanwhile, the two-day job fair to be organized by the SBMA Labor Department will make available at least a thousand jobs to applicants. This will be held at the Subic Gym on September 5 and 6.

The celebration will also feature youth and sports-oriented events like the TRAP Aquathlon Championships at the Remy Field and the Subic Bay Ultimate Community Frisbee Tournament at the Remy Field on September 4; the National Athletic Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (NAASCU) Basketball Tournament at the Subic Gym on September 8 and 17; and the SBMA Body Painting Contest on September 30.

The Subic celebration will also include exciting competitions like the Central Luzon-wide Professionals Flair-tending/Bartending Competitions on September 13; the Tourism Quiz Challenge in the Subic Got Talent- School Category on September 15; and the Subic Got Talent- Open Category on September 22, all at the Harbor Point Activity Center here.

The SBMA has also scheduled the Subic Bay Freeport Familiarization Tour, a free rolling tour around selected tourist attractions and parks for SBMA employees and students on September 7, 14, and 21; and for persons with disability on September 28.

SBMA officials are also inviting the public to take a glimpse of unique offerings from other provinces in the region through a special Central Luzon Province Show and the launching of the Festival of Festivals,which will cap the Subic celebration on September 9 and 30, respectively, at Harbor Point.

The Department of Tourism (DoT) regional office has named Subic Bay Freeport as the most visited tourist destination in Central Luzon since 2013, based on reports submitted by accommodation establishments in all the seven provinces and three economic zones in the region.

Subic was also named “Number 1 Tourist Destination in Region III” for two consecutive years and continues to live up to its title as “Premier Convention Capital of Central Luzon,” which the DoT bestowed in 2012.

“Subic has everything,” Chairman Garcia said. “We have the facilities and the access by land, by water,and by air. And of course, we have year-round activities to make your stay in Subic memorable.”

“We invite you now to see the upcoming Tourism Month activities here and experience for yourself why people say that ‘It’s more fun-tastic in Subic’,” Garcia added. (RAV/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:
Some of the popular tourism attractions in the Subic Bay Freeport:
[1] Magaul Bird Park
[2] Malawaan Fishing and Picnic Area
[3] El Kabayo Riding Stables
(AMD/MPD-SBMA)

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One of the smallest mammals thrive in Subic Bay

An Ayta jungle instructor displays a lesser bamboo bat (Tylonycteris pachypus), locally known as “Kabag” and said to be one of the smallest mammals on earth found in the Philippines, during a bird show at the Magaul Bird Park in the Subic Bay Freeport.

The bamboo bats, which may weigh from 3.5 to 5.8 grams, are endemic to Subic Bay with its large rainforest reserve, one of the biggest in the island of Luzon.

This species lives in the hollow of shoots of the giant bamboo Gigantochloa scortechinii; the entrance slit (created by the Chrysmelid beetle, Lasiochila goryi) to the bamboo tunnel is too restrictive for most predators, such as snakes. Flattened skull (to pass through entryway) and toe and wrist pads (to grip inner surface) are adaptations to their roosting site. Groups of up to 40. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)

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Half-a-thousand birds show opens in Subic Freeport’s Jest Camp

Bird lovers and hobbyists have another reason to visit this Freeport with the opening here of the Magaul Bird Park, Jest Camp's newest tourism attraction, which offers the world’s first half-a-thousand birds show.

“Wings of the World,” produced by an all-Filipino team, unveils the majestic charm of birds found in forests around the world—from Africa to South America, to China and the Philippines.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Regulatory Group OIC Ruel John Kabigting, who was guest of honor during the park opening, lauded the newest addition to Central Luzon’s best tourist destination, saying this will attract more tourists, especially bird lovers.

“Magaul Bird Park is not only a park to go to in Subic, but a place to enjoy and learn the importance of caring for our environment, especially our forests,” Kabigting said.

He added that Wings of the World is an ambitious project. “This is the first in the world and no other theme park has ever done this before,” Kabigting noted.

For her part, Katrina Lacap, general manager of Magaul Bird Park, affirmed that the Wings of the World show presents an ensemble of “our bird buddies” with the underlying theme of environmental protection.

“For the first time ever in the world, Wings of the World’s grand finale will bring half a thousand birds on stage from all directions of the Alula Amphitheater here at the park,” Lacap told the opening day visitors.

Lacap said the show will feature hundreds of pigeons that circle the audience on their seats, hundreds of guinea fowls that descend towards the stage, as well as majestic hornbills and macaws that fly over them.

She added that the show will make the audience look up in awe as the giant wings of white-bellied sea eagle cast a shadow over them. (RAV/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:
[1] Park personnel show visitors various bird species at the Magaul Bird Park in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone during the recent launching of the “Flight of a Thousand Birds” show. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)

[2] SBMA Regulatory Group OIC Ruel John Kabigting joins the owners of the Magaul Bird Park led by Lito Lacap (far right)​ in Subic Bay Freeport in introducing the “Flight of a Thousand Birds” show during the recent park opening. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)

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1st bird park in Luzon seen to boost tourism in Subic

Touted as the country’s premier survival course provider, JEST Camp opened its doors this month to bird lovers and enthusiasts all over the country with the launching of the Magaul Bird Park, the first bird park in Luzon, which is expected to boost tourism in this freeport.

Along with the introduction of the bird park was the launch of a bird show that showcased a hundred birds of different species, some of which belong to the endangered list.

Katrina Lacap, JEST Camp general manager said the bird park hopes to be recognized globally which also runs parallel with Subic’s aim of making it a world-class eco-urban center.

“JEST Camp is one with the local government in promoting both local and international tourism for Subic Freeport Zone while preserving the forest environment that is unique to the area. Companies in Subic including those involved in animal preservation are not competing among each other but rather working together to help promote Subic,” she said.

“Here (in Subic), we already have land (Zoobic Safari), marine/water (Ocean Adventure), and this time, we giving them Air (Bird Park). So kumpleto na kami dito. We want people to know that we’re promoting the province and not the individual businesses,” she added.

To achieve this goal, she said JEST Camp must become a center for sustainable living technologies and must create a haven for city dwellers inside a forest, a destination for nature lovers who want to learn about eco-friendly living.

Apart from the being the only bird park in Luzon, Lacap said it offers 10 other attractions, with three talk-and-feeding and two amazing shows. (Franco G. Regala, Manila Bulletin)

PHOTO:
A bird park trainer shows off how a red-vented cockatoo follows orders from her using hand signals and a whistle at the JEST Camp inside Subic Freeport. 

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