Wilcon to open branch in Subic Bay Freeport

Renowned leading home improvement and construction supplies retailer Wilcon Depot is set to open its ₱700 million branch within this premier Freeport soon.

The construction of a new branch inside Subic Bay Freeport was confirmed as the lease agreement was signed between Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño and Wilcon Depot, Inc. Chairman Emeritus William Belo at the SBMA's administration building early this month.

According to the lease agreement, the branch will be located at Sampson Road, Central Business District of SBFZ, with a lot area of 5,308 square meters, including the renovation of a portion of Building 640, and the construction of a showroom. 

“This is a great addition to the companies located here, with many construction companies, home builders, and other DIY enthusiasts flocking to the area to buy building materials, tiles, plumbing, and other DIY items,” Aliño said.

Aliño said the company will hire 200 personnel for its operation, adding to the growing number of workers inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. (MPD-SBMA) 

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Firm tampering with product expiry faces cancellation of permit

A company found to be tampering with the expiration dates of food products kept in its warehouse here is facing revocation of its permit to operate, and may eventually lose its certificate of registration as a Freeport enterprise.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said she has ordered the suspension of the certificate of registration and tax exemption (CRTE) of Phil-Em Enterprise Incorporated after the firm’s employees were caught red-handed in a raid by law enforcers last Monday.

“It saddens me to know that some unscrupulous people are taking advantage of others especially in this time of a pandemic,” Eisma said.

She said that the consent to sublease given to Phil-Em Enterprise for the use of a warehouse at the Global Industrial Park here may also be withdrawn if warranted.

“We will not tolerate any activity that violates the law and besmirches the solid reputation of the Subic Bay Freeport as the leading economic center in the part of the country,” Eisma added.

According to a report from the SBMA Intelligence and Investigation Office (SBMA-IIO), elements of the National Bureau of Investigation and the SBMA-IIO raided the Phil-Em warehouse early Monday on the strength of a search warrant issued by the Regional Trial Court in Olongapo City.

During the operation, law enforcement agents caught Phil-Em employees in the act of erasing the expiry dates on packs of Clover Chips and replacing the same with new dates using printing machines, said SBMA-IIO officer in charge Rodel del Rosario.

Subsequently, the operatives confiscated four Citronex printers with conveyors, 150 reams of label stickers, 50 reams of various printed label stickers, and two cans of eraser fluid.

The agents also seized several boxes of food items like Clover Chips, Ligo sardines, Nissin Cup Noodles, Century Tuna, Milo energy Drink, Sky Flakes crackers, Star margarine, Magnolia cheese, Royal and Fiesta pasta, Lily’s peanut butter, and food seasoning.

Phil-Em owner Philip Velasco was arrested along with employees during the raid, Del Rosario also reported. They were brought to the NBI office in Olongapo for further investigation.

Velasco’s business partner Amanda Pathak, who was also named in the search warrant, will also be charged by the NBI, said Del Rosario.

The suspects will be charged with violation of RA 7394, or the Consumer Act of the Philippines, RA 9711 of the Food and Drugs Administration Act of 2009, and RA 10611 or the Food Safety Act of 2013. (MPD-SBMA)

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World’s 5th biggest carrier starts Kaohsiung-Subic route

Another global shipping company has made the Subic Bay Freeport its port of call of choice, bringing to five the number of major shipping lines that operate in the country’s premier free port.

Evergreen Line, which is based at Taoyuan City in Taiwan, is the world’s fifth biggest shipping firm and operates in 240 ports in 80 countries worldwide. It commenced operations here on Wednesday (April 19) with the arrival of M/V Cape Fulmar, a 1,440-TEU vessel home-ported at the Marshall Islands.

According to Evergreen boarding officer Andy Dela Cuesta, the arrival of Cape Fulmar marked the start of Evergreen’s once-a-week rotated schedule from the port city of Kaohsiung in Taiwan to Batangas and Subic in the Philippines, and back to Kaohsiung.

Cape Fulmar, which has berthed at Subic’s New Container Terminal (NCT), unloaded 200 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) container vans and 70 forty-foot equivalent unit (FEU) container vans for companies in Subic and Clark like Yokohama, Lepanto Tiles, and Coam Philippines.

Before it departs, the ship will load 39 containers of products for shipment, Dela Cuesta added.

The Evergreen official also said that some of their customers in Manila are now considering putting up warehouses in Subic, noting the easy access to Subic Freeport via the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEx).

The entry of Evergreen in Subic, according to Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Administrator Wilma Eisma, “will definitely boost the timely transshipment of goods in Central and Northern Luzon and improve the competitiveness of these areas in terms of the delivery of raw materials and finished products.”

“Time is one major concern of investors and manufacturers in Central and Northern Luzon— their raw materials should arrive on time and their finished products must be delivered as scheduled. And this is where Subic comes in to provide ease and cost-efficiency,” Eisma added.

The SBMA administrator also said that as her administration is keen on increasing container traffic in the Subic Bay Freeport, the agency is actively promoting the Subic as an ideal shipping port, pointing out that it is the only port in the country’s Western seaboard that can accommodate a sizable quantity of cargo container.

“Along this line, the arrival of Evergreen is a major development for Subic,” Eisma added.

Taiwan is now among the Philippines’ biggest trading partners, with around $7.85 billion worth of bilateral trade in 2015. Currently, the Subic Bay Freeport Zone hosts 52 Taiwanese companies with $500 million worth of investments and over 12,000 jobs generated.

Thus far, Evergreen is the fifth major international shipping line to call on Subic and connect the free port to major economies in Asia. The others are American President Lines (APL), which is based in Singapore; Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) of Japan; Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) of Japan; SITC Container Lines of China; and Wan Hai Lines of Taiwan.

Evergreen, which has 190 ships and some $4.6 billion in revenue, is also the fifth biggest shipping company in the world, according to MoverDB.com. NYK places No. 14 in the same list, while Wan Hai is at No. 19.

In 2015, it was named “Best Global Shipping Line” by Asia Cargo News at the Asian Freight Logistics and Supply Chain Awards for consistent excellence in customer service, innovation and quality of services provided. (RAV/HEE/MPD-SBMA)

PHOTOS:

[1] A tugboat nudges MV Cape Fulmar into position at the New Container Terminal-2 in the Subic Bay Freeport on Wednesday. The arrival of the container vessel marked the start of a Kaohsiung-Subic- Kaohsiung route for Evergreen Lines, the world's 5th biggest shipping line. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)

[2] Container trucks line up at the New Container Terminal-2 in the Subic Bay Freeport on Wednesday, as MV Cape Fulmar unloads cargo containers to mark the start of a Kaohsiung-Subic- Kaohsiung route for Evergreen Lines. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)

[3] Officials of the Taiwanese shipping giant Evergreen Lines proceed to the dockside at Subic’s New Container Terminal-2 on Wednesday to welcome the arrival of MV Cape Fulmar, which marked the start of a Kaohsiung-Subic- Kaohsiung route. (AMD/MPD-SBMA)

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BoC-Subic holds steel bars from China

Almost 5,000 metric tons of deformed steel bars are entering the Philippines from China, but may not be on a par with the Philippine national standards and “pose a threat to security and safety.”

In an April 21 alert order forwarded to the media on Monday, the Bureau of Customs reported deformed steel bars in bundles were aboard the MV Well Faith was supposed to have docked in Subic port last Thursday.

Steel bars from China (File photo by Reuters)

The 4,929.38 MT of deformed steel were consigned to a certain Mannage Resources Trading Corp.

The alert order noted the shipment was red-flagged in the absence of an appropriate import permit, potentially in violation of Section 2503 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines which lists imported properties “subject to forfeiture.”

In a letter to the Subic Bay Freeport Zone and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) office in Zambales, the Philippine Iron & Steel Institute (PISI) wants the Subic and trade authorities to move against the shipment based on the Customs alert order. "...[W]e request for your assistance in holding the processing of the import entry of Mannage Resources Trading Corp. until the Bureau of Philippine Standards has conducted a complete inventory, thorough examination and testing of physical, chemical and mechanical properties of the product...” Roberto Cola, PISI president, said in the April 21 letter.

“We ask for your assistance on this matter to ensure that these imported reinforcing steel bars are in conformity with the Philippine National Standards and do not pose a threat to the security and safety of our Filipino consumers,” he added. (Kristyn Nika M. Lazo, The Manila Times)

http://www.manilatimes.net/boc-holds-steel-bars-from-china-in-subic/258348/


'THOU SHALT NOT [DUMP] STEEL' | BoC tags China cargo for 'lack of permit' but strong lobby is on

MANILA - A group of stakeholders in the iron and steel sector is asking local Customs officials in Subic to hold processing of a shipment of steel bars from China, which the BoC's Intelligence Group had earlier tagged for "lack of permit."

The Philippine Iron and Steel Institute has written the District Collector of Subic, Atty. Emelito G. Aquino, asking for help in holding the processing of the import entry of Mannage Resources Trading Corp., for 4,928.38 metric tons of what are called "deformed steel bars," and asking authorities to first ensure these comply with Philippine National Standards. It's important to ensure the bars from China -- which in recent days has been accused by several countries of dumping steel products as it deals with a glut -- do not pose a threat to the "security and safety of Filipino consumers," said the Iron and Steel Institute's president, Roberto M. Cola, in the letter to Subic district collector Aquino.

The consignee, Mannage Resources Trading Corp, lists its address at Unit 1203-1204 One Global Place in Bonifacio Global City.

The appeal from Cola's group was lodged amid information that certain "well-connected" Filipino-Chinese businessmen have lobbied the Department of Trade and Industry to give the shipment a clean bill of health in order to facilitate release. InterAksyon sources said local steel manufacturers are subjected to some 200 tests for every 5,000 mt of steel products, and they expect a "level playing field" with respect to the imported steel bars from China.

So-called "deformed steel bars" are not necessarily sub-standard, but are categorized as such because they are not as polished as the others. Still, they need to be subjected to tests to ensure consumer safety. Â The Iron and Steel Institute has asked Subic collector Aquino to hold release of the cargo until the DTI's "Bureau of Philippine Standards has conducted: a complete inventory; a thorough examination; and testing for physical, chemical and mechanical properties" of the steel bars.

It was learned that on April 21, Deputy Customs chief, retired general Jessie Dellosa, had issued an "alert order" for the shipment from Hangzhou for "lack of permit," in violation of Sec. 2503 in relation to Section 2530 of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines.

The 2,461 bundles from the Hangzhou CIEC Group Co. Ltd. were loaded on the Well Faith vessel, with registry number OPL 0005-16, which left the port of Shanghai April 14.

Sources said the steel bars have since been unloaded from the Chinese boat, but are stored in Subic, while the influential Filipino-Chinese businessmen are lobbying DTI to fast-track the clearances from the Bureau of Product Standards. One source said it had been issued already an import commodity clearance. (InterAksyon.com)

http://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/national/thou-shalt-not-dump-steel-boc-tags-china-cargo-for-lack-of-permit-but-strong-lobby-is-on/ar-BBsd9Si#image=1

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Chinese firm pledges P9-billion investment at Subic Freeport

A Chinese steel manufacturer has pledged P9 billion for an export-oriented business project here in the Subic Bay Freeport.

The Panhua Group Co. Ltd. will engage in the pre-painting of steel coils and metal sheets for export and domestic trade and other allied industries.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Roberto V. Garcia said the SBMA board of directors approved Panhua’s proposal on its 258th board meeting in February 2014.

The Chinese firm is also engaged in shipping, real estate, mining, steel manufacturing and logistics business in China.

Garcia said the entry of Panhua in Subic attests to the growing attractiveness of the country to foreign investments.

“The Philippines is currently enjoying a BBB rating from Standard and Poor’s, which means that the country has adequate capacity to meet financial commitments,” Garcia noted.

He added that more foreign direct investments (FDIs) are pouring into the Philippines because it has earned the trust of investors after it received investment upgrades from different rating firms.

The Panhua Group is a large-scale conglomerate, manufacturer, exporter, and wholesale supplier of cold-rolled steel coil, cold-rolled steel sheet, galvanized steel coil, galvanized steel sheet, pre-painted galvanized steel coil, and pre-painted galvanized steel coil sheet.

With an annual steel production capacity of 1.5 metric tons, Panhua Group Co. Ltd. is listed among the 500 top private enterprises in China.

The firm’s main manufacturing bases, which have a registered capital of $100 million, are located in Zhangjiagang City and Fuling District, as well as Chongqing City in mainland China.

Company officials said its proposed Subic Bay Freeport operations are expected to augment its production, as it has pegged its export target at 42,000 metric tons per month to begin in the first quarter of 2016.

Panhua’s newly-approved project in Subic will be located at Subic Bay Gateway Park Phase 2 and will initially be manned by 100 employees. (RFD/MPD-SBMA)

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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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