The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority is now gearing up in connection with the 30th Southeast Asian Games to be hosted by the Philippines from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11.

Chairman Danilo Lim said his agency would deploy 2,000 personnel in key areas in the metropolis to supervise and help manage the traffic flow and provide assistance during the event.

He said the MMDA shall provide personnel and equipment along designated routes for seamless movement of delegates from airport to billeting hotels, sports venues and other engagement areas at the least inconvenience to the general public.

“Aside from deployment of traffic personnel to strategic areas, we shall provide motorcycle and mobile car escorts, ambulances, tow trucks as well as monitoring of road activities during the SEA Games,” said Lim.

The 12-day event, according to Lim, is expected to gather thousands of athletes, sports officials, coaches, spectators and guests at sports and non-sports venues within Metro Manila.

Among the venues include the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex, Cuneta Astrodome, SM Mall of Asia Arena, SM MOA Skating Rink, World Trade Center, Philippine International Convention Center Forum, SM Megamall, Filoil Flying V Centre, Filinvest City, University of the Philippines Diliman Gym, Marine Corps, Muntinlupa Sports Complex, Starmall EDSA, Makati Coliseum, Manila Hotel tent, SM Megamall Ice Rink, World Trade Center, Philsports Arena, Amoranto Sports Complex, and Manila Polo Club.

To give way to the convoy of vehicles going to and from the said venues, stop-and-go traffic schemes will be implemented along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue and other major roads and intersections to facilitate the fast movement of the delegates.

A temporary stop of traffic will also be observed as delegates’ convoy passes through roads and intersections.

Occasional traffic disruptions also might be experienced on both directions of EDSA. On northbound, affected areas are: Roxas Blvd., Taft Avenue, Ayala, Buendia, Shaw Boulevard, Megamall, Santolan, SM North, Muñoz and Balintawak. On southbound, affected portions are Balintawak, Munoz, SM North, Cubao, Santolan, Ortigas, Shaw Boulevard, Boni Serrano, Buendia corner Macapagal, Ayala Magallanes, and Roxas Blvd.

Convoy carrying delegates will use the yellow lane, flyover and underpasses while traveling along EDSA.

The MMDA also identified chokepoint areas: These are SLEX Northbound; Mindanao Avenue- North Ave to NLEX in Quezon City; Roxas Blvd corner Buendia, Roxas Blvd corner P. Ocampo, Roxas Blvd P. Burgos, Taft Avenue corner P. Ocampo, Adriatico RMSC Area, Quirino corner Adriatico, in Manila City; Shaw Boulevard corner Pioneer in Pasig City; N. Domingo-FilOil in San Juan City; and Lawton Avenue corner Bayani Road in Taguig.

To maximize road space for all road users, Lim said traffic personnel has started conducting clearing operations of all obstructions and eyesores along the routes with the assistance of the Philippine National Police and concerned Metro local government units starting this week towards the event.

Other SEA Games Clusters where traffic congestion is expected are Clark, Subic, Southern Luzon and others. The MMDA’s preparation is in coordination with the Philippine Sea Games Organizing Committee, Philippine National Police, local government units, government agencies, and stakeholders.

Reference: Manila Standard

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Next month, the Philippines will host the actual games or sports to be played under the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, or the 30th SEA Games. Specifically, this regional sporting event will happen from November 30 to December 11. As far as the country is concerned, this is the fourth time that the nation is playing host to this multisport activity. This year, the competitions will happen in different main venues: Metro Manila, Clark, Subic/Olongapo and Tagaytay.

The 11 members of the Southeast Asian Games Federation are joining the 2019 SEA Games: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, East Timor and Vietnam. A total of 56 sports are going to be played, which makes this year’s SEA Games the biggest in terms of the number of sports included.

The country is setting aside at least P7.5 billion for this event, with P6 billion coming from the government. The rest of the money comes from sponsorship agreements facilitated by the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc). The administration even built a huge, world-class sports complex in New Clark City, which houses the state-of-the-art Aquatics Center and Athletics Stadium, plus the Athletes’ Village where the athletes and other SEA Games personalities will be billeted.

One would wonder why the country, with its seemingly endless list of problems and other priorities, would spend this amount of money to host a regional sporting event. Hosting the 30th SEA Games is a task that was previously declined by the original would-be host Brunei because of lack of funding. Well, according to Phisgoc, the country is making this investment to establish the country’s reputation as a premier sports destination.

Last October 3, the Philippines received the SEA Games Flame from 2017 host Malaysia in a handover ceremony at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. The lantern carrying the flame will be brought to the Philippines to kickoff various torch run activities in Davao, Cebu and Clark.

The official torch for this year’s SEA Games symbolizes unity, sportsmanship, athletic superiority and artistic achievements. One of the Philippines’s esteemed sculptors, Daniel de la Cruz, designed the torch and the medals for the SEA Games. His torch design shows the national symbols, including the sampaguita, our national flower. It stands for purity, simplicity, humility and strength.

I am sure there are many Filipinos who are excited to watch some of the events and offer support to our very own athletes. Tickets for the different events are going to be available for sports fans across Southeast Asia. SM Tickets is the official ticketing outlet, which means that you can buy from their web site and from any of their actual ticket centers nationwide starting October 15. The opening ceremony, to be held at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan, happens on November 30. Tickets to this event starts at P1,000.

As the main hub of the 2019 SEA Games, Clark is the venue for several sporting events. New Clark City in Clark, Pampanga, offers the newly built Athletics Stadium and Aquatics Center as the venue for the centerpiece sports athletics and swimming. However, Metro Manila will still be hosting most of the sporting events, including basketball, volleyball and weightlifting.

Reference: Business Mirror

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MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines will host the biggest Southeast Asian Games yet as it features 56 sports and 530 events in 44 venues across the country from November 30 to December 11, 2019.

Planning to catch the games live? Check out our guide to the venues and schedule of events here:

Clark is considered the main hub of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games with the construction of New Clark City, which will host the centerpiece sports – athletics and swimming. The International Broadcast Center (IBC) is also located in Clark, Pampanga.

However, most of the sporting events – including major sports like basketball, volleyball and weightlifting – will still be held in Metro Manila.

Source : Rappler

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SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—The steady influx of tourists aboard cruise ships docking in the Subic Bay Freeport has generated about P261 million in direct and indirect revenues in the last 20 months.

Figures released by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) indicated that a total of 34 cruise ships arrived in this free port since February 2018 when the Subic agency launched its cruise ship program.

The ship arrivals brought into this free port a total of 77,485 passengers, of whom 75,450 or 97.37 percent were Chinese, as well as a total of 39,607 crew members.

With these arrival figures, the SBMA Tourism Department said that Subic and the neighboring communities had earned some P129 million from the 19 cruise ship arrivals in 2018, broken down as: P45.75 million in direct revenues at the agency’s seaport and tourism offices, and P83.26 million in indirect revenues collected by theme parks, restaurants, buses and taxis, and other facilities and services used by cruise ship tourists.

Meanwhile, from the 15 cruise ship arrivals in the first nine months of 2019, SBMA Tourism Office computed an even higher gain of P132 million, with P7.94 million in direct revenues and P124.11 million in indirect income.

The growing income portends more income for Subic, as well as inclusive growth for Subic and the nearby communities with tourism attractions, SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said.

“Our cruise program has been picking up and, after logging more than 38,000 cruise visitors last year, as well as more than 39,000 from January 2 to October 1 this year, we expect to top these records with about 54,000 by the end of this year,” Eisma said.

Four cruise liners have so far arrived in Subic to bring in the more than 75,000 cruise passengers: MS Costa Atlantica of the Italian operator Costa Crociere, which logged in 22 arrivals; MV World Dream of the Hong Kong-based Dream Cruises with nine bookings; MV Superstar Gemini of Star Cruises, with two dockings; and, MS Ovation of the Seas of Royal Caribbean Cruise, which visited once.

Eisma said Subic expects to continue getting this tourism bonanza, as the SBMA had so far listed 38 confirmed cruise ship arrivals and two tentative bookings for 2020, as well as four confirmed and one tentative schedules for 2021.

“Best of all, of the 40 bookings for next year, 15 are confirmed for overnight stay. This could only mean more tourism income for Subic and the nearby areas of Olongapo, Zambales, Bataan and even Pampanga,” she added.

Eisma pointed out that the overnight bookings were made possible after President Duterte signed Executive Order 72, which gave foreign nationals entering through Subic seaports a visa-free stay of 14 days. Previously, this privilege went only to those arriving via the Subic airport.

Eisma added that among the cruise ships set to arrive before the yearend is MS Spectrum of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean Cruises vessel that has booked 4,819 passengers for a December 27 trip to Subic.

Spectrum of the Seas will be back in Subic on January 20 next year with 4,819 passengers, while its sister cruise liner MS Quantum of the Seas will arrive with 4,905 tourists and 1,500 crew on February 28, according to the SBMA chairman.

Reference: Business Mirror

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A foreign shipbuilding giant, but not a Chinese company, could take over the Subic shipyard left behind by Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Phils before the end of the year, according to the head of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).

Negotiations are progressing between Hanjin, which had declared bankruptcy, and the so-called white knight, according to SBMA chair and administrator Wilma Eisma. The company planning to take over has not been identified.

Eisma on Wednesday, Oct. 2, told reporters that negotiations between the potential new owner and five creditor banks of Hanjin—led by Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC)—were moving forward ahead of a December deadline.

The Department of Finance (DOF) was also involved in the negotiations due to the exposure of state-run Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) in Hanjin, Eisma said.

Three other banks with exposure in Hanjin were BDO, BPI and Metrobank.

Eisma said the potential white knight was not a Chinese firm contrary to previous reports. She declined to give the name of the company.

But the deal, said Eisma, could happen “even sooner” than deadline.

She said it was possible for Hanjin’s 33,000 workers to return to their jobs if the white knight pours in fresh investment and uses the shipyard for its original purpose—shipbuilding

Eisma said the shipyard was attractive to investors—shipbuilder or not—because of its area, 300 hectares, and at least $2 billion in assets that dwarfed Hanjin’s $411 million debt.

The shipyard is also capable of producing bulk carriers, or cargo ships with capacity of 15,000 TEU or more.

If talks between the foreign shipbuilder and Hanjin’s creditors falter, Eisma said another company, also a shipbuilder, is waiting in the wings.

Source : Philippine Daily Inquirer

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