Subic Bay maritime confab ‘hugely successful’

The first Subic Bay Maritime Conference and Exhibit opened on Thursday to raves and tumultuous applause, as more than 500 shippers and shipping line operators attended the launch at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center (SBECC) here. Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Roberto Garcia said that the event drew executives from various shipping and logistics companies from as far as South Africa, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia...

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Subic stages 1st NCAA beach volley match

MANILA - The NCAA resumes its outreach program in Season 88 as it holds its first out-of-town beach volley tournament in Subic Bay, Zambales this Sunday. NCAA Management Committee chair Fr. Vic Calvo, OP, of host Letran and tournament host Paul Supan of Letran have already made the out-of-town game official by signing a Memorandum of Agreement with Subic Bay deputy administrator Raul Marcelo recently. The Subic joust comes on the heels of the NCAA’s successful hosting of its first out-of-town basketball tournament in Sta. Cruz, Laguna last month. A...

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Subic Freeport celebrates San Roque feast day Disney-style

People dressed as cartoon characters from popular animated films swarmed the Harbor Point Mall here on Thursday as the entire Subic Freeport community led by the Subic Bay Freeport Authority (SBMA) celebrated the feast day of San Roque, Subic Bay’s patron saint. With the theme, “It’s More Fun-tasy in Subic @ Harbor Point”, this year’s edition of the annual San Roque Street Dance Competition required participating schools, business locators, and...

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SBMA signs MOU with Korea’s “Silicon Valley”

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Daejeon TechnoPark, one of South Korea’s leading technological institutions, in the metropolitan city of Daejeon. Known as the “Silicon Valley” of South Korea, Daejeon Technopark is the second biggest center of Administration and Science and Technology, and plays a key role in Korea’s domestic economic development. SBMA chairman and administrator Roberto...

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SBMA teams join rescue and relief operations in flood areas

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority’s Fire and Rescue team once again braved torrential rains and rising floodwaters to do what it does best – saving lives and rescuing people from danger and calamity. Responding to calls for assistance, this time from the onslaught of “habagat”, or the southwest monsoon, SBMA fire chief Ranny Magno deployed the first Fire and Rescue team to the flood-stricken area of Orion, Bataan, as early as Monday (August 6) night. “From then on, there was no rest for everyone, as four other teams were dispatched on the...

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Images Of The August 7 Flood Aftermath

A resident of flood-stricken Olongapo City with some of his "salvaged" possessions. A local shoe store getting right back to business. Even the City Hall was not spared Rizal Triangle covered court Can you tell this is a basketball court? Wall toppled by the floods' strong current How terrible is the mud left by the flood? Images of people getting right back on track. Flood water as mud remover. Fleet of vehicles parked...

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SC stops Subic coal power plant project

The Supreme Court has issued a Writ of Kalikasan against the planned 600-megawatt coal-fired power plant of Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. at the Subic Bay Freeport. The high court in a July 31 ruling restrained the company from proceeding with the construction of the coal power plant after Party-list Rep. Teodoro Casiño complained against the expansion of the power plant complex from its original capacity of 300 MW. RP Energy is a joint venture among Meralco PowerGen Corp., a unit of Manila Electric Co., and Therma Power Inc. of the Aboitiz Group...

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Amira C. Foods airs side

AMIRA C. Foods, DMCC, which was recently tagged in news reports in connection with the reported shipment of Indian rice allegedly smuggled into Philippine territory through the Subic Bay Freeport, yesterday broke its silence on the issue. In a press statement issued by its legal counsels from the Ongkiko Mahit Custodio and Acorda Law Offices, the Amira C Foods said it is a company duly established and existing for more than 50 years, with international presence as a seller of rice products in at least 40 countries, has a reputation to uphold...

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Subic exec denies role as broker in rice fiasco

The deputy administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority on Thursday denied that he acted as a go-between for an Indian company accused of smuggling 420,000 bags of rice into the country and a consignee based in the free port. Stefani Saño said that, contrary to the testimony given at the Senate Wednesday, he did not broker a meeting between Amira C Foods International of India and Metro Eastern Trading Corp., a Subic Bay tenant. In a statement submitted to the office of SBMA chairman and administrator Roberto V. Garcia, Saño said that,...

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Rescued Koreans safe in Subic, but their barges still unlocated

The seven Korean nationals rescued off the coast of Zambales on Thursday are now safe and sound in this free port, but the barges they have been towing when they nearly sank due to heavy rains and strong winds are not yet located as of press time. A top official of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said the rescued Koreans remain aboard the Philippine Coast Guard’s BRP EDSA II which has docked here after the rescue. They were identified...

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Subic hosts 109th SEIPI general assembly

Some 215 representatives from 83 companies in the semiconductor and electronics sector trooped here last Friday for the 109th general membership meeting of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines, Inc. (SEIPI) at the Subic Bay Yacht Club. Department of Transportation and Communications Secretary Mar Roxas and Philippine Economic Zone Authority Director General Lilia de Lima graced the event that brought the SEIPI general...

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SBMA, BOC deny ‘turf war’, vow close cooperation vs. rice smuggling

Officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) yesterday dispelled reports of a “turf war” in connection with the seizure of some P420-million worth of imported rice here, and vowed to work close together to curb attempts to smuggle rice through this free port. In a joint press conference at the SBMA office here, SBMA Chairman Roberto Garcia and Customs Commissioner Rufino Biazon said the two agencies...

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SBMA grants long-term lease to specialty school

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) recently signed an agreement with the Quiz Bee Early Learning Center, giving it bigger facilities to address the school’s rapid growth. The Quiz Bee Early Learning Center is run by the Quiz Bee Foundation, which is the proponent of the annual National Quiz Bee, a prestigious scholastic competition participated in by some of the brightest students in the country. The SBMA agreed to give long-term leasehold rights to Bldg. 1154, located on Palm Street at the Gateway Park here, to provide more room to...

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SBMA woos call centers to Subic’s ICT Hub

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) is now enticing call centers to locate in this free port, trumpeting its superb facilities for business process outsourcing (BPO) operations. In an assembly meeting of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) and the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP), SBMA Chairman Roberto Garcia expressed optimism that Subic Bay will become the next place to be for information and communication technology (ICT) businesses in the country. The SBMA official, who was invited by...

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Hanjin breaks ground for P1.2-B housing project for workers

Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Ltd., (HHIC)-Philippines Inc., which operates the world's fourth shipbuilding facility in this free port, marked another milestone in its corporate social responsibility program by breaking ground on Wednesday for a P1.2-billion housing project for its workers. In a ceremony held at the project site, HHIC President Jin Kyu Ahn said the project will rise on a 30-hectare area in Barangay Nagbunga, Castillejos, Zambales, which the company has bought and donated to the housing project. The Subic Bay Metropolitan...

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SBMA lauds BOC’s seizure of P43-M smuggled rice

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) lauded the Bureau of Customs (BOC) following the recent seizure of smuggled rice worth about P43 million at the Port of Subic. SBMA Chairman Roberto V. Garcia also commended the efforts of both agencies, the BOC and the SBMA, whose joint inspection of 90 units of 40-footer container vans, which supposedly contained construction materials and gypsum boards, led to the discovery of 45,000 bags of rice from Vietnam. In accordance with a memorandum of agreement between SBMA and BOC, the two agencies decided...

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Subic stages biggest-ever duathlon event

MANILA - More than 600 duathletes from around Asia are seeing action in the continent’s biggest duathlon event, the Subic Bay Asian Duathlon Championships (ADC) presented by Century Tuna on Nov. 25. Organized by the Triathlon Association of the Philippines (TRAP) in cooperation with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), the event highlights top continental honors for run-bike-run competitors at stake with the Elite, Under-23, Junior Elite and Youth (13-15) categories. ASTC’s Balwant Singh Kler confirmed that the ADC will serve as an official...

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Port experts to headline Subic maritime conference

The upcoming Subic Bay Maritime Conference & Exhibit will be headlined by experts in the maritime transportation and logistics industry, who will discuss trends and developments in sea-borne trade. No less that Susumu Naruse, secretary-general of the International Association of Ports & Harbors (IAPH), will be among the guest speakers when the conference unfolds here on August 23-24 at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center. The IAPH, which was founded in 1955 in Los Angeles, has developed into a global alliance of ports, representing...

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ArenaBall goes to Subic

SEASON 3 of the ArenaBall Philippines goes out of town on Saturday when the Jaguars tackle the Wolves and the Rebels battle the Bandits in a doubleheader headlining the ABP-SBMA Games at the Remy Field inside the Subic Freeport Zone in Olongapo City, Zambales. “There is a big American community in Subic, which loves the NFL-style American football that we play so we are bringing our games over there,” said ABL founder and president Dodi Palma in yesterday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Shakey’s UN Avenue branch in Manila. Joining...

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Market Forces To Dictate Shifting Container Traffic To Batangas, Subic

MANILA – Diverting container traffic to Batangas and Subic Ports to decongest Manila and maximize the two ports should not be mandated on business, and market forces be allowed to decide on this issue. This was stressed by Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) president George Chua during a recent consultation meeting on the study to decongest Manila and divert container traffic to Subic and Batangas ports. Earlier, the Export Development Council (EDC) and the Philippine Export Zone Authority (PEZA) claimed that one way to unclog the traffic...

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2nd Aboitiz Power Tour held in Subic Freeport

Subic Bay once again played host to another exciting race as the 2nd Aboitiz Power Tour of Subic concluded here over the weekend. The two-day biking event organized by Bike King in cooperation with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) attracted more than 300 cyclists who competed in four race categories. The biking event, which followed the highly successful Century Tuna 5i50 Triathlon on June 24, further reaffirmed Subic’s reputation...

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SBMA firefighters train LGUs and firms in rescue operations

Firefighters from the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) continue to expand their role in community service by providing essential training to search and rescue teams from various local government units (LGUs), as well as business locators in this free port. On July 2-7, a team composed of 21 men and three women from Valenzuela City, participated in a seminar on Collapsed Structure Search and Rescue (CSSR) here. Team leader Ma. Alona Ada...

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TESDA ink MOA with Central Luzon-based Freeport Zones

Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Secretary Joel Villanueva on Wednesday signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with heads of Clark Development Corporation (CDC), Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) for an active partnership toward the promotion of the agency’s various programs to locators in these Freeport Zones. The MOA covers collaboration in job-skills matching, policy consultation, conduct of industry studies, assessment and certification of middle-level workers...

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Aboitiz Power Tour draws huge field

Close to 300 cyclists and over 30 cycling clubs from around the country will slug it out for top honors in the second Aboitiz Power Tour of Subic at the Subic Bay Freeport this weekend. Organized by Bike King in cooperation with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Tourism Department and presented by Aboitiz Power, the event features three different stages of cycling challenges that will take participants around the Freeport and as far as Bataan. Stage 1 (40km time trial) and stage 2 (45-minute + 2 laps criterium) will both be held tomorrow. For...

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PLDT, unit sign Subic telecom deals

TELECOM giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and subsidiary SubicTel firmed up agreements with 12 Subic merchants to provide the latter with wireless fidelity (WiFi) service. The Subic establishments that signed the WiFi zone partnership agreement are Aristocrat Restaurant, All Hands Beach Resort, Bayfront Hotel, Eastern Gasoline Station, Meat Plus Restaurant, Networx Jetsports, Royal Duty Free Shop, Subic Bay Yacht Club, The Lighthouse Marina Resort, Zoobic Safari, Pier One Bar and Grill, and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. PLDT...

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Hospital ship USNS Mercy docks in Subic Bay

The US naval ship Mercy (T-AH-19), a floating hospital on a four-month Asian tour, docked on Monday at the Alava Pier here for a six-day humanitarian mission, as well as rest and relaxation for its crew. In a statement, the US Embassy in Manila said that USNS Mercy is in Subic Bay as part of the Philippine leg of Pacific Partnership 2012, a U.S. Pacific Fleet humanitarian and civic assistance program held annually. The Pacific Partnership program...

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DENR conducts public consultation on Subic coal plant project

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) conducted a public consultation on the coal-fired power plant project proposed by Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. (RP Energy) last June 29 at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center. More than 5,000 participants composed of residents of Olongapo City and Subic, Zambales, as well as representatives from various stakeholder groups in the Subic Bay Freeport area, attended the consultation. ...

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Taiwanese trade mission visits Subic Bay Freeport

Officials representing some of the biggest manufacturing companies in Taiwan visited this free-port zone on Tuesday in a trade and investment mission that scouted for possible business projects here. The delegates were led by Terry Lee, director-general of Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, who said the mission was composed of the representatives of 66 of the biggest manufacturers in Taiwan today. Officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan...

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Food Industry in Subic Up

The food industry here is increasing as more and more restaurants, cafes and fast food are popping up inside the Subic Bay Freeport. Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Public Relations Department Manager Armie Llamas said the increase in the number of restaurants signifies investor-confidence in the Freeport’s potential as a tourism hub. “With the setting up of restaurants such as Sumosam, TGIFridays and the likes only means that entrepreneurs who invest heavily in the food industry believes that Subic will likely generate income,” Llamas...

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