SBMA supports DepEd, Sanyo Denki partnership to train SHS graduates

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) expressed its full support for the Department of Education’s (DepEd) initiative to send senior high school (SHS) graduates for training with Sanyo Denki Philippines, Inc. (SDP).

Called the “Building Bridges Together from Enrollment to Employment” initiative, DepEd Regional Office 3 and the SDP signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) at the company’s building on May 4, 2026, witnessed by the SBMA.

SDP President Kenji Yanagisawa and DepEd Assistant Regional Director Jessie L. Amin signed the MOA, which was also witnessed by SDP Division Manager Cynthia Renion, and other SDO officials from Central Luzon.

SBMA Chief of Staff Atty. Von Rodriguez, who attended on behalf of SBMA Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño, said the initiative is part of DepEd Regional Office 3’s program to align educational outcomes with industry standards through strategic collaborations with the private sector.

“With this initiative, DepEd plans to enhance the workforce transition and employability of SHS graduates, starting with 120 students from the Schools Division Offices (SDO) of Bataan, Zambales, and Olongapo City,” Rodriguez said. 

This will expand to SDOs in Tarlac, Angeles City, and Mabalacat City.

Meanwhile, Yanagisawa said that people are the source of sustainable growth. He stressed the need to align education programs with employment demands, urged students to utilize the initiative, and extended his appreciation to DepEd and the stakeholders.

Amin expressed support for the partnership as it indicates a commitment to secure the future of the learners.

“Our greatest gift to humanity is our kindness to our children,” Amin said, adding that companies currently seek three qualifications: technical competence, technological skill, and soft skills, highlighting the latter as the priority.

The “Building Bridges Together from Enrollment to Employment” initiative aims to elevate SHS “exit points” by ensuring learners possess the specific skills and competencies required by modern employers.

Central Luzon is currently experiencing a robust labor market, characterized by high employment rates and a strategic shift towards higher-value industry and services sector jobs, necessitating a tighter match between worker skills and industrial demands.

In this region, SHS graduates demonstrate high foundational literacy, yet they face significant challenges in direct labor market entry due to a persistent job-skills mismatch. While the region achieved the highest basic literacy rate in the country at 92.8% as of 2024, only a small fraction of SHS graduates successfully transition into the workforce. (MPD-SBMA)

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Sanyo Denki donates two Hydroponic System units to SBMA

In its effort to encourage healthy eating habits, Sanyo Denki Philippines Inc., a Japanese electronics manufacturer here, donated two units of Hydroponic Systems to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).

Sanyo Denki Philippines Inc. Director Yosuke Takeuchi explained that these Hydroponic System units grow fresh, chemical-free vegetables in a safe and healthy environment, while they are being tested in real-world scenario with the government agency as a test bed.  

The two units installed at Building 255 are currently growing Black Rose Lettuce which will be distributed to SBMA employees once ready for harvest.

Takeuchi, along with Sanyo Denki Philippines Inc. President and CEO Hirokazu Takeuchi, presented the two units to SBMA Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño on January 22, 2026.

Aliño expressed his gratitude to the two officials, acknowledging that these Hydroponic System units can be adapted to the planned dormitory and residential areas proposed for Freeport employees to ensure augmented food security.

“With the buildings of the SBMA running on solar power, electricity for these Hydroponic System units will not be an issue. I hope that the testing of these units would become successful so that companies inside the Subic Freeport would adopt it for the sake of their employees,” Aliño said.

The Hydroponic System introduced by Sanyo Denki Philippines uses San Ace fans, a product made by the company itself. The two units have Black Rose Lettuce currently being grown, with the capacity to grow leaf radish, parsley, Mizuna, coriander, romaine lettuce, green and iceberg lettuce.

The Hydroponic System is a Deep Flow Technique type that has dimensions similar to a large cabinet and weighs 61 kilograms without water. The system uses 220-volt electricity, which consumes approximately 0.3 kilowatt-hour, has a capacity for 90 plants, and a water tank capacity of 60 liters.

The lettuce grown in the Hydroponic System may be harvested after 20 days. (MPD-SBMA)

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Sanyo Denki opens P2.3-B phase 4 expansion project

Japanese firm Sanyo Denki Philippines, Inc. has formally opened the P2.3-billion phase 4 of its expansion project at the Subic Techno Park (STEP) inside this premier Freeport last March 22. 

According to Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño, the P2.3-billion Phase 4 expansion project includes the construction of a fourth factory building. 

He added that the expansion project will require an additional 1,500 workers to manufacture uninterrupted power supplies (UPS), cooling fans, servo amplifiers, and stepping motors. 

Aliño led the blessing and inauguration ceremony held inside the company’s grounds along with Sanyo Denki Philippines, Inc. Chairman Chihiro Nakayama, Director Koichi Uchibori, and President and CEO Hirokazu Takeuchi.

Takeuchi expressed his gratitude to the SBMA for its support in the expansion plans of the Japanese company, citing that the Subic Bay Freeport is the second home of Sanyo Denki as the parent company Sanyo Denki Co. Ltd. is located in Tokyo, Japan.

Currently, Sanyo Denki Philippines, Inc., which was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commision on January 25, 2000, and with the SBMA on March 9, 2000, has three factory buildings, and a technology center they opened in 2019. 

The company manufactures and repairs electric machineries, electric appliances, computer wares, electronic materials, and all parts and accessories, sells scrap materials, and has a workforce that grew to 4,851 employees as of December 2023.

The company became the top Subic locator in exports value in the first quarter of 2021, according to figures from the SBMA Trade Facilitation and Compliance Department with a freight-on-board (FOB) value of $79.5 million or almost 25 percent of the total exports from Subic posted from January to March 2021.

Sanyo Denki was among the very few Subic locators allowed to continuously operate during the Covid-19 pandemic that was under enhanced community quarantine conditions to build cooling fans for the ventilators used for Covid-19 patients. (MPD-SBMA)

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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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Japanese tech firm opens Subic R&D center

JAPANESE technology firm Sanyo Denki Philippines, Inc. has opened a research and product development center in Subic Bay Freeport.

The firm, which produces cooling, power and servo systems at its factories in the Subic Techno Park here inaugurated the Sanyo Denki Technology Center (SDP-TC) last week, an expansion project for the company that was established here in 2000.

Wilma Eisma, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman and administrator, graced the inauguration, remarked that Sanyo Denki’s new project that “will bring the future to Subic.”

“The technology transfer would again put the Filipino workers on top of their game, so aside from the fact that Sanyo Denki would be hiring more locals, Subic would also benefit a lot from this undertaking,” she added.

Sanyo Denki Philippines (SDP) chief executive officer and president Koichi Uchibori said SDP-TC will serve as the hub of product development for the Sanyo Denki Group of Companies here in the Philippines.

“From now on, Sanyo Denki Philippines, will be developing high performance and high quality products- the much needed parts of the costumers around the world,” he continued.

SDP senior executive operating officer Kauro Tamura said the SDP-TC will consolidate the technology development base for its three design departments.

Sanyo Denki Philippines, Inc. is the production site for cooling, power, and servo systems of Sanyo Denki Co. Ltd., a global technology company that started out in Tokyo in 1932 with a factory for the production of small AC/DC generators and power units for communications equipment.

Its Subic operations include highly efficient automated production lines such as the surface mount technology (SMT), and a department for developing and designing cooling fans.

SDP design division supervisor Michiro Watanabe explained that Sanyo Denki’s efforts to enhance its operations in Subic has resulted in the establishment of the SDP-TC, which is the third building it has put up since 2000.

He said that the new facility will now house the consolidated design department for fan design, servo design, and power design.

“This comfortable work space will allow us to go on with the business, with the combined efforts of the Japanese management and the Filipino staff, to deliver world-class products with higher performance and higher quality,” Watanabe also said. (Ric Sapnu, Sun Star)

PHOTO:

SBMA Chairman & Administrator Wilma T. Eisma (center) and company officials opened the new technology center of Sanyo Denki in Subic Bay Freeport Zone. (photo from SBMA Chair & Administrator Facebook page)

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1796920

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SBMA confers awards to 15 top Subic Freeport investors

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has conferred its first Mabuhay Business Awards to 15 business locators here who have strengthened the local economy and contributed significantly to the growth of the country’s gross domestic product.

Organized by the Office of the Chairman and Administrator and the SBMA Business Group, the Mabuhay Business Awards were given to the top 15 locators whose combined investments have reached a total of US$3 billion and together have employed over 40,000 workers.

“These locators have breathed life into the local economy,” said SBMA Chairman Roberto Garcia. “They have transformed vacant parcels of land into busy commercial establishments and factories; a target range into a leading shipbuilding facility in the world; and a marsh land into a hi-tech manufacturing facility producing high value electronic components used by global brands.”

“The awards we’re giving them are just a small measure of our appreciation in helping build the Subic Bay Freeport into what it is now,” Garcia added.

According to SBMA Deputy Administrator for Business Ronnie Yambao, the 15 investor-awardees were chosen from the 1,536 Freeport-registered companies based on their actual investments, jobs generated, and multiplier effect caused by the locators’ business operations.

For the general business sector, the awardees were: Honeywell Ceasa (Subic Bay) Co., Inc., a P435-million firm providing repair and overhaul of aircraft wheels, brakes and other aircraft equipment; Petron Freeport Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Petron Corp., with P422-million investment in Subic; and Anglo Asia Commodities Corp., a P350-million investment engaged in export/import, warehousing, and transshipment of general cargoes and merchandise.

For the information and communication technology sector, the awardees were: PLDT Subic Telecom Inc., a P550-million project that provides telecommunications services in the Freeport; S-Corp Philippines, Inc., a P166-million company with 1,800 workers in the field of technology services; and Moon Kkang Talk, Inc., a P97-million investment with 173 workers that provides online direct response marketing, live order taking services, on-line learning center, among others.


For the leisure sector, those cited were: Subic Bay Town Center, Inc., with investment of P1.6-billion for the operation of the Harbor Point Mall; Royal Duty Shops Inc., also a P1.6-billion investment that engages in retail business; and Fertuna Holdings Corp, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cosco Capital Inc., with P554M million committed investment in the field of retail, real estate, liquor distribution and other specialty business.

For the logistics sector: Philippine Coastal Storage and Pipeline Corp., with P3.4-billion worth of investment in fuel terminal and storage tank farm that can hold 4.6 million barrels of petroleum and petroleum-related products; Subic Bay International Terminal Corp., a P906-million company that manages and operates the New Container Terminal 1 and is committed to further develop the facilities; and Subic Bay Freeport Grain Terminal Services, Inc., with investment of P683 million for bulk grain handling for Central and Northern Luzon grain importers.

Then for the manufacturing and maritime sector, the awardees were: Hanjin Heavy Industries Inc., Phil., Subic’s biggest investor with over US$2 billion investment and a total of 33,863 workers; Sanyo Denki Phils., Inc., a P3.2-billion company with 3,500 workers engaged in the manufacture of electric machineries, appliances and computer and electronic wares; and Tong Lung Phils. Metal Industry Co., Inc., which has over P2.1 billion in investments and over 2,100 workers for the manufacture of residential and commercial locksets and door closer.

The Subic Bay Freeport and the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga remain to be major contributors to the country’s economic development, as their combined export values last year provided about 11 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The SBMA said that Subic and Clark’s combined export value last year amounted to around US$6 billion and was very significant to the gross regional domestic product (GRDP), which contributed 11 percent to the Philippine GDP. (RAV/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTO:
SBMA Chairman Roberto V. Garcia, along with other SBMA officials, joins locator-awardees during the first SBMA Mabuhay Business Awards ceremony held at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center on December 11, 2015. Fifteen of the biggest business locators here were recognized for their significant contribution in strengthening the local economy and to the growth of the country’s gross domestic product. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)

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