A bill that strengthens and expands the powers of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Development Authority has been passed at the House of Representatives by a vote of 200 to six without abstention.

Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, principal author of House Bill No. 8720 mandates the SBMA to have authority and jurisdiction over all economic activities in the free port zone.

The measured amends Republic Act No. 7227 or the Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992.

The expanded authority of the SBMA includes the power to inspect and register leisure ships and pleasure yachts of any ship owner.

For this purpose, the bill provides the SBMA shall administer and maintain an open register of leisure ships and pleasure yachts subject only to such rules and regulation to be promulgated by the SBMA in consultation with the Department of Transportation.

The bill also mandates the SBMA to administer and implement incentives granted to its registered business enterprises.

Likewise, the SBMA shall fix and impose just and reasonable rates and prices for the establishment, operation and maintenance of infrastructure, services and businesses in the Subic Special Economic Zone pertaining to electronic, web and cloud data operators and providers and telecommunications; shipping and maritime business and activities; airport operations; and all other similar matters inside the economic zone.

Once enacted, the bill hopes to improve the revenue collection of SBMA and thereby increase the shares of the local government units affected as well as that of the national government.

Among the changes introduced by HB No. 8720 is the inclusion of a provision that the municipalities of San Antonio, San Marcelino, and Castillejos of the province of Zambales and the municipalities of Morong, Hermosa, and Dinalupihan of the province of Bataan may cede in whole or in part their entire municipal territory to the Subic Special Economic Zone for a period of not less than 50 years.

Source: manilastandard.net

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MANILA — Malacañang has issued an executive order which governs the admission and stay of foreign nationals in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone as “temporary visitors.”

Executive Order 72, signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea by authority of the President on Dec. 18, allows foreign nationals granted visa-free privilege to depart from the Subic Bay Piers and Wharves besides the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA).

“There is a need to amend EO No. 271 to allow foreign nationals granted the visa-free privilege under the said EO to depart from the Subic Pay Piers and Wharves, besides the SBIA,” the EO read.

EO 271 allows foreign nationals, not categorized as “restricted” as determined by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), visiting the zone for business and/or tourism purposes to enter all ports of entry of the zone and stay therein without visa for a maximum period of 14 days subject to certain conditions and provided that they shall leave or depart from the Philippines only through the SBIA.

The EO was issued amid Subic Bay Piers and Wharves reportedly emerging as “new destinations for international cruise ships.”

Citing data from the Department of Tourism (DOT), the EO noted that cruise ship arrivals in 2018 each carry an average of 1,600 passengers and 1,000 crew members.

“It is anticipated that there will be a continued increase in cruise ship arrivals in the Subic Bay in 2019 and onwards,” it added.

Aside from allowing foreign nationals who enter the zone to depart from the Philippines only through SBIA or SBPW, the EO allows foreign nationals not restricted “to enter all ports of entry of the Zone and stay therein without visa for a maximum period of 14 days provided that upon arrival, they present their passports, Certificates of Identity or travel documents valid for at least six months beyond the intended stay in the Zone and confirmed onward flight or marine vessel tickets.”

The DFA, Bureau of Immigration and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority must jointly implement the executive order and in consultation with the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, must issue guidelines to ensure that there will be no detriment to national security.

The EO shall take effect immediately upon its publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation.

Source: pna.gov.ph

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Traffic crawls along the southbound lane of Roxas Boulevard in Manila yesterday.

MANILA, Philippines — Metro Manila’s traffic situation, regarded as being one of the world’s worst even on a normal day, is seen to further worsen this weekend.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) advised commuters and the general public to prepare for this weekend’s “horrendous” traffic due to the holiday rush.

“For the past how many years, we have data that show that this weekend will be one of the most horrendous in terms of traffic,” Transportation Assistant Secretary Mark de Leon said in an interview with One News’ Agenda.

“People will be leaving for their provinces. People will be going shopping, last minute shopping. So our major thoroughfares including the roads leading to these thoroughfares, especially those around shopping malls, hotels and commercial establishments, all of that will be very much congested,” he explained.

Also projected to be affected by heavy traffic congestion this weekend are those roads that would lead to seaports, airports and bus terminals, he added.

He warned commuters to brace themselves for the congestion as “everywhere you go there will be traffic.”

Traffic in Metro Manila has been infamously known as being among the worst globally. Foreign business leaders have been lamenting the worsening traffic situation in the country, saying the condition is making Metro Manila and key cities in the provinces “uninhabitable.”

The Japan International Cooperation Agency reported in February that the worsening traffic situation in Metro Manila is now costing the country P3.5 billion in missed economic opportunities daily, a significant rise from the estimate of P2.4 billion in 2014.

Meanwhile, a study commissioned by ride sharing company Uber in November last year showed Manila as ranking among the worst cities in Asia when it comes to the time people spend daily in traffic gridlock. It also showed that people in Manila have the third longest average time being stuck in traffic every day at 66 minutes.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp.-unit NLEX Corp., the concessionaire for the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), is expecting traffic volume to surge by 10 percent in its system these coming holidays. It has started putting in place measures to aid motorists.

NLEX said it is ready to implement its motorist assistance program to ensure hassle-free travel during holidays in NLEX-SCTEX given the expected increase in traffic volume, including extended working hours for traffic personnel, opening of additional toll lanes, setting up of counterflow lanes in strategic areas and free towing services.

Source: philstar.com

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Photo Credit: news.abs-cbn.com

Cebu Pacific (CEB) begins commercial operation of its daily flight between its hub at the Clark International Airport in Pampanga and the Bohol-Panglao International Airport.

The new route is part of the carrier’s expansion plans for its Clark hub to cater to the catchment areas in Northern and Central Luzon.

The route is expected to stimulate domestic tourism between the Visayas, Central Luzon and Northern Luzon; as well as provide support for the growing Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism sub-industry.

The daily Flight 5J 613, bound for Tagbilaran (Panglao), is scheduled to depart Clark at 9:55 a.m. and arrive at 11:20 a.m.

The return flight, 5J 614, is set to depart Bohol at 11:50 a.m., and arrive Clark at 1:15 p.m. The flights are operated out of the Bohol-Panglao International Airport.

“We are excited to commence operation of our newest route in Clark. As we expand our fleet and our route network, we look forward to supporting economic growth in Clark and its surrounding areas as well as in the province of Bohol through tourism and logistics support,” according to Dindo Fernando, Director for Airport Services at Cebu Pacific.

Source: business.mb.com.ph

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The Department of Science and Technology (Dost) and Its attached agency Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (Pnri) want to reinstate the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (Bnpp) in Light of the Looming Depletion of Gas from the Malampaya Gas Field in Palawan.

PNRI director Carlo Arcilla told reporters that all well-lit places in the world” had nuclear power plants.

“There is more radiation when eating one banana [because of its potassium] than standing in front of the BNPP,” Arcilla was quoted as saying in a Manila Standard report.

They saw the need to revive the BNPP because of the nearing gas depletion of Malampaya gas field, which would only last for another five years, he said.

“The cost of electricity would significantly go down if we could only rely on nuclear power,” Arcilla added.

He also noted that the findings of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology confirming there is no fault beneath the BNPP is vital to the talks of reviving the Philippines’ lone nuclear plant.

In the report, Arcilla noted that the BNPP is still needed given its projection of producing 700 MW “at most.” Together with the use of coal-powered energy and wind energy when it comes to generating energy, Arcilla said the country will need all three energy sources simultaneously to address the power shortfall of over 10,000 MW “in the near future.”

“I acknowledge the concerns of some environmental advocates as to where to dump the nuclear waste,” Arcilla said in the report.

“But that would not a be a big problem. We are an archipelagic country. We have so many islands such as Kalayaan and Pagasa, and the technology to dump nuclear waste through deep geologic borehole disposal. We have very good scientists in our country.”

Source: powerphilippines.com

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