SBMA posts record profit

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority has disclosed that the agency achieved last year the highest profit in its 20 year history. Based on preliminary figures presented at the SBMA’s Strategic Planning conference last week, the Agency posted a record profit of P789 million in 2012. This is a drastic turnaround from the P1.2 billion loss in 2011 Chairman & Administrator Roberto V. Garcia said that the turnaround was due to increased revenues, reduced operating expenses and a favorable exchange rate. The Agency revenue increase of 16%...

Read More

Lions, SBMA partner for eye exam and free cataract operation project

Some 200 cataract patients from Olongapo City will be operated on for free by international team of doctors under a project organized by the Lions Clubs District 301-D1-Philippines and the Lions Clubs District 19-C, a counterpart district in Washington, USA. Around 3,500 residents also benefited in the five-day optical examination and screening project jointly undertaken by the Lions International Foundation and the Olongapo City New Horizon Lions...

Read More

Hanjin Subic Shipyard Delivers 2 Bulk Carriers To UK Company

South Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction - Philippines (HHIC-Phil Inc.) welcomed the New Year with yet another milestone when it unveiled simultaneously two newly-built DWT 205,000 Bulk Carriers in its 300-hectare state-of-the-art shipyard facility recently. The vessels, purchased by England-based Rio Tinto Shipping Limited, were named M/V "RTM Cabot" and M/V "RTM Drake", respectively. The ships, named after two renowned British explorers, will have London in the United Kingdom as their homeport. The event was attended...

Read More

PLDT-Abap national boxfest set in Subic

The Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (Abap) has lined up two major local competitions to start the year, including the national championship, leading off to the Asian Youth tournament in March at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone gym. The Capitol Grounds in Iba, Zambales, in cooperation with the provincial government led by Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., will be the site of the PLDT-Abap National Capital Region-Luzon Area tournament on Jan. 22 to 26. A total of 70 to 80 boxers coming from 15 boxing clubs and associations are expected to compete...

Read More

US vessel arrives in Subic for port call

The United States Embassy in Manila said that another one of its navy ships, USS Guardian, arrived on Sunday for a routine fuel stop. In a statement, the embassy said that the USS Guardian, a US Navy Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship, arrived in Subic Bay. “This visit will allow the ship to replenish supplies as well as give the crew an opportunity for rest and relaxation,” the embassy said. After an overnight visit in Subic, the ship will proceed to Puerto Princesa City in Palawan “for another brief visit.” The USS Guardian is assigned...

Read More

Air ambulance takes good care of Subic residents

Subic proved to be an ideal site for an air-ambulance service when a severely injured man, from Pohnpei, Micronesia, was airlifted to the Unihealth-Baypointe hospital at the former American naval base recently onboard a reconfigured twin-engine Westwind business jet. The Westwind jet was converted into a mini intensive-care unit ward complete with hospital staff, an oxygen system and ventilators because patients are usually too sick or injured to fly in a commercial flight. Officials of air-ambulance firm, Carejet Assist, said they could not...

Read More

Subic issues ban on plastics in retail establishments

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) through its Ecology Center has implemented the “no plastic” policy applicable to retail establishments inside the Subic Bay Freeport zone. In a memorandum issued by the Ecology Center dated December 27, 2012, the SBMA said that no retail establishment in the Subic Bay Freeport shall provide to any customer at the point of sale plastic bags as packaging material on dry goods. Instead, a reusable bag or the brown paper bag shall be used or provided. The policy took effect on January 1. It added that...

Read More

Subic Bay welcomes 2013 with street party

Up to 13,000 people crammed the Waterfront Road and Boardwalk Park in this free port on New Year’s Eve to usher in 2013 and bid 2012 goodbye. The revelers brought food for their traditional New Year’s feast, pitched tents and set up tables in the seaside venue, heard Mass and watched a mini-concert while awaiting what appeared to be the best fireworks display since the tradition started here in 2001. “The New Year Countdown is our way of giving...

Read More

Subic Bay to host Asian Triathlon Championships

Subic Bay Freeport will once again be the nation’s hot spot for triathletes as it will host the K-SWISS Subic Bay ASTC Asian Triathlon Championships 2013 on April 27, 28 and 29. A joint project of the Triathlon Association of the Philippines, the International Triathlon Union, the Asian Triathlon Confederation and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Tourism Department, the three-day event marks the 20th edition of the longest running and premier standard distance triathlon in the country as well as the third time the Freeport will host the Asian...

Read More

90,000 Workers Go Back To Work At Subic Bay Freeport

After a long and stress-relieving holiday hiatus, almost 90,000 employees working here are returning back to work. According to Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Roberto Garcia, the 89,372 employees make up the current workforce inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone and have kept the economic zone afloat despite the economic crises that has affected most of the Western world. “Each and every one of these employees has my respect. They have made great contributions in ensuring that Subic Bay Freeport remains the flagship of the Philippines...

Read More

SBMA sees fruitful year for Subic Bay tourism

The year 2012 is expected to end on a high note for the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) in terms of tourism as the agency became more aggressive this year in promoting and drawing more visitors to the Subic Bay Freeport. Marking a year of outstanding growth in its tourism promotions program, the Subic Bay Freeport received a certification from the Department of Tourism (DOT) affirming it as the "Premier Convention Capital of Central Luzon, with the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center (SBECC) as the centerpiece. Another highlight...

Read More

DOLE, SBMA sign deal to protect Subic Freeport workers

THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) vowed to ensure the safety and safeguard the health of workers in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone amid complaints of abuse, mistreatment and even death of workers contracted by Korean company Hanjin operating inside the area. Labor Sec. Rosalinda Baldoz and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority [SBMA] signed the memorandum of agreement last week that “maintains industrial peace and enforce labor and occupational safety and health standards in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.”  “I am pleased of this convergence...

Read More

Subic Investors Unite For Tourism

In an effort to push the current status of this premier Freeport’s tourism, hotel and tourism companies here unite to come up with the “Stay in a Hotel in Subic, Play a round of golf for free!” Subic Leisure World Inc. President and CEO Benjamin John Defensor III said all tourists who stay at their accredited hotels can play a free round of golf at the Subic Golf Course. “It’s a simple, yet effective way, of enticing tourist golfers to take their families in Subic Bay Freeport and enjoy the many tourism sites here. It would also give those golfers...

Read More

Manila Ports’ Decongestion Moves Up

The Subic-Clark Alliance Development Council has thrown its support behind a new set of policy proposals aimed at decongesting traffic to and from the Manila ports, saying such policy mix will give a major boost to the underutilized Subic and Batangas ports to where spillover container cargoes would be rerouted. The proposed policy mix is contained in a study funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and includes, among others, new pricing strategies such as reduced wharfage, berthing fees and vessel-related charges in Batangas and...

Read More

Astro Air links Subic, Kalibo with Taipei

The high-ranking management team of Subic-based Astro Air International, the latest CAAP-certified air operator in the Philippines, paid a courtesy call to Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines (TECO) Representative Ambassador Raymond Wang to introduce their first flight, which will link Subic and Kalibo with Taipei, Taiwan. Wang noted that he is looking forward to an increased tourist and business flow between the Philippines and Taiwan with this newly introduced flight route and is hopeful for an enhanced tourism, and trade...

Read More

Subic Firm Producing Indoor Vegetables

A company inside this premier Freeport is producing Central Luzon’s only indoor-grown vegetables that are free from both fertilizers and pesticides. Subic Amino Hightech Corporation has been growing vegetables thru an indoor hydroponics system a few months ago inside a 6 meter by 15 meter room where temperature is maintained at 22 degress celsius, cooler than most offices inside the Freeport. The two hydroponic systems, with six levels each, provide the nutrients to rows of healthy Frillice Lettuce, Wasabe greens, and Arugula plants. “The program...

Read More

Thousands race in co-op advocacy run

Thousands of runners from some 300 cooperatives in the seven provinces of Central Luzon raced for a cause here on Wednesday during the “Cooperative Advocacy Run” that was held as part of the simultaneous nationwide celebration of the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC). The event, organized by the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) in Region 3, drew around 17,000 registered runners who competed in two race categories. CDA-Region 3...

Read More

Kanawan Medical Mission

Patients line up for free medical check-up and medicine in the remote upland village of Kanawan in Barangay Binaritan, Morong, Bataan, during a medical mission conducted by PJ Lhuiller Foundation, Inc. in partnership with Cebuana Lhuiller, United Laboratories Inc., and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority. Around 200 residents, mostly Aeta families, benefited from the project coordinated by the SBMA Public Relations Department. (Photo by Jun...

Read More

Subic online school donates 250 bags of rice for indigent families

An online language instruction company in this free port has turned over 250 sacks of rice to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) for distribution to less privileged communities in Zambales. Moon-kang Myung, president of MoonKkang Talk, Inc., told SBMA Chairman Roberto Garcia during a brief visit at the latter’s office that his company would donate 250 50-kilo bags of rice under the firm’s corporate social responsibility program. First established in Daegu, Korea in 1996, MoonKkang Talk, Inc. is a company dedicated to enhancing the speaking...

Read More

Decongest Manila: Cargo Diversion To Subic, Batangas Starts 1Q 2013

A new policy on how to decongest traffic to and from the Manila port by diverting container cargoes to the Subic and Batangas seaports will be in place by the first quarter of 2013. This was disclosed by the consultants who made a study on the twin issues of decongesting Metro Manila traffic and making full use of the recently modernized alternate ports during a final consultation held at a hotel in the Ortigas business district in Pasig early this week. The consultants were commissioned by the Department of Transportation and Communications...

Read More

Russia eyes closer economic ties with PHL, Subic Bay

The Russian Federation is eyeing to forge closer economic ties with the Philippines and the Subic Bay Freeport in particular, as it sets its sight on wider trade with countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Russian Ambassador Nikolay Kudashev, who visited this free port recently, told officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) that Russia seeks to forge more bilateral trade agreements with the Philippines. “Right now there is much...

Read More

DENR gives go-ahead to Subic power plant

The Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc. has finally secured an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) from the Department of Environment and Natural resources for its second 300-megawatt power plant inside Subic Bay Freeport. With the ECC, RP Energy’s coal fired power plant has formally increased its 300MW plant to a total of 600-MW power plant which is expected to start commercial operations in 2016. In a statement, RP Energy said it was issued an “amended” ECC, which it considered a “major milestone toward the completion of the project that we...

Read More

British Yacht Redesigning Firm Banks On Subic Bay For Growth

A British company engaged in the refurbishing and redesigning of old yachts has banked on Filipino ship-building skill and this premier Freeport’s tax perks and strategic location to chart its future growth. Ocean Gecko Designs and Marine Services Inc. recently invested in this Freeport to recreate old boats and turn them into luxurious sea-going vessels. Although the managing team has been a part of an investor in Subic Bay Freeport for 10 years, the company only started in 2010. Managing Director Duncan Trower said “our British management team...

Read More

10 outstanding Subic Freeport workers honored

This year’s crop of “the best among the Freeport’s best” was finally known last Friday when the Subic Bay Workforce Development Foundation, Inc. (SBWFI) recognized the 2012 Ten Outstanding Freeport Workers who exemplified discipline, dedication, and commitment to excellence in their respective jobs. The 11th batch of outstanding workers were chosen by SBWFI in cooperation with the Labor Department of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA)...

Read More

Abad books slot to 2013 World Games

MIRASOL Abad made history for Philippine duathlon when she earned a sport in the 2013 World Games in Colombia with a strong third place finish in the Century Tuna ASTC Asian Duathlon Championships yesterday at the Subic Bay Freeport. Competing against the best from Japan, Abad, a 27-year-old native of Davao City, engaged two-time Olympian Ai Ueda in a neck-and-neck race only to lose steam in the final two kilometers of the run leg. “She (Ueda) maintained her strong pace in the last two kilometers so I decided to slow down to ensure I’ll be able...

Read More

Official Statement by the SBMA Board of Directors on the alleged waste dumping incident in Subic Bay

For the information of the public, and in the interest of truth and fairness, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) wishes to clarify and emphasize the following points contrary to some very damaging reports which have recently appeared in media. ...

Read More

SBMA honors volunteers in celebration of 20th Subic Freeport anniversary

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) celebrated the 20th founding anniversary of the Subic Bay Freeport this week by honoring volunteers who helped develop the country’s first free port. The SBMA, led by chairman and administrator Roberto Garcia, gave a fitting tribute to the pioneer volunteers who worked hard in protecting the facilities left here by the US Navy in 1992 and converting the former naval base into a special economic zone. ...

Read More

Subic seen hub for general aviation

It was November 24, 1991 when the last American jet fighter took off from Subic, marking the end of their military stay, but now a new breed of jet have taken over the Subic Bay International Airport (Sbia)--business jets. “This is our blueprint, to see our airport as a bustling hub for general aviation,” says Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman Robert Garcia. The former US military base cum- industrial-commercial complex turns 20 years old this November 24th. “I will go very strongly into general aviation, which includes charters,...

Read More

All Set For Asian Duathlon

Duathletes from Jordan, Syria and Iran are likely to crowd Continental powerhouse Japan for the elite honors in the Century Tuna ASTC Asian Duathlon Championships on Nov. 25 at Subic Bay Freeport. Japan’s Yuya Fukaura and Morimichi Lihoshi, ranked Nos. 33 and 59, respectively, in the world, will be challenged by Jordan’s Isha bi Abedalaziz, Syria’s Samir Hajazi and Iran’s Mohammad Ashgari Khatooni for the men’s title. Out to stop London Games veteran Ai Ueda of Japan in the distaff side are Iran’s Roghaye Sharifi and Zeinab Agha Hasan Nooshbadi...

Read More

OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF THE SBMA ON HAZARDOUS WASTE DUMPING ISSUE

Official Statement from the SBMA For the information and safety of the public, contrary to what has been implied, there is no evidence that any toxic waste such as nuclear, chemical or similar hazardous waste has been discharged in the confines of Subic Bay. Neither is there evidence that oily wastes or sewage wastes have been dumped in our waters. Latest tests show that Subic Bay’s waters remain clean, safe, and continue to be within normal levels. On the issue of oily water waste and sewage, our initial investigation shows the following: 1. On...

Read More