The Subic Bay Freeport Zone has again gained international attention when it garnered two awards in the International Finance Awards 2017 given out by the London-based International Finance Magazine (IFM), a financial market information group.

PHOTOS: Fastest Growing Free Trade Zone in Asia award and Best Social Responsibility Initiative award

Under the Financial Awards category, the Subic Bay Freeport Zone was named the “Fastest Growing Free Trade Zone” in Asia while the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) was recognized in the same category for its “Best Social Responsibility Initiative”.

The IFM awards recognize and honor individuals and organisations in the international finance industry that make a significant difference and add value, as well as herald the highest standards of innovation and performance.

Organizers said the IFM awards make a concerted effort to shine the spotlight on organizations in niche segments and those that exhibit brilliance in the unsung corners of the finance industry.
The other winners from the Philippines are: BPI Asset Management, as “Best Asset Manager”; Omnipay, as “Best Payment Solutions Provider”; and RCBC Bankard Services Corporation, “Best Credit Card Offerings”.

The awards will be handed out next year during the IFM Annual Award Ceremony scheduled on January 26 in Singapore.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma Eisma said it is “both an honor and privilege to be counted among IFM’s roster of excellence.”

“These awards, which come on the eve of SBMA’s 25th year anniversary, inspire us not only to celebrate our past but more importantly, to forge our country’s future for the sake of our children and future generations by continuing to make a difference and adding value to Filipino lives,” she added.

Subic Bay’s first award recognized its emergence as a flagship of the Philippine economy and a catalyst of growth in the region.

To date, the Subic Bay Freeport has a total of more than 126,000 workers employed by a total of 2,897 companies variously engaged in shipbuilding and other marine-related business, tourism, ICT, manufacturing, and services. With committed investments surpassing the $1.4-billion mark in the first quarter of this year, SBMA officials expect Subic to make more significant strides in the Philippine economy in the coming years.

The second award cited the SBMA for identifying the social needs of the indigenous Ayta community in the Subic Freeport area and taking the initiative to positively impact the social status, earning potential and access to services of the members of the tribe.

Last week, the Subic Bay Freeport was also recognized as the Best Sports Tourism Destination of the Year during the Third Sports Industries Awards and Conference Asia held in Bangkok, Thailand.

In the same event, the SBMA won the silver award for Best Sponsorship of a Sport, Team or Event for sponsoring triathlon events here in 2014 to 2016.

Meanwhile, SBMA Chairman Eisma was adjudged among this year’s winners in the search for the “100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World”, which recognizes Filipino women who are influencing the face of leadership in the global workplace.

Eisma received the award during the 14th Filipina Leadership Global Summit scheduled on October 25-29 in Toronto, Canada.

Source: subicnewslink.blogspot.com

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Subic Bay Freeport – Known for having the most diverse marine wildlife inside its sanctuary, the Ocean Adventure won the recently concluded 1st Philippine Tourism Industry Awards that was held last week at the Okada Manila casino and hotel resort in Parañaque City.

By Jonas Reyes

Photo by: FB @oceanadventuresubicbay

Ocean Adventure CEO Scott Sharpe said his team was elated over the accolade given by the event organizer United Stars Events and Exhibitions Corporation.

Sharpe said the competition was stiff since they were up against other world-class theme parks such as Danao Adventure Park in Bohol and Campuestohan Highland Resort in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, among others.

Organizers said the 1st Philippine Tourism Industry Awards night aims to recognize the establishments and individuals that had significant contributions in the overall tourism impact to the growing number of tourists in the country.

They added that the awards seek to become the standard of excellence in showcasing the nations’ best tourism products, services, and experiences.

The event also gave awards to 21 different categories such as Major Tourist Attraction, Best Festival, Eco Tourism, Cultural Tourism, Farm Tourism, Wellness Tourism, Adventure Tourism, Best Hotel, Best Resort, Unique Accommodation, Major Tour and Transport Operator, Best Theme Park, Best Waterpark, Best Travel Oriented Magazine, Best Travel and Tour Agency-SME, Excellence in Food Tourism, Best Historical Museum, Best Modern Museum, Best Special Interest Museum, Lifetime Achievement Award-Accommodation, Most Outstanding Tour Guide

Source: news.mb.com.ph

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MANILA, Philippines — Naniniwala si Subic Mayor Jefferson Khonghun na may bahid pulitika ang pagkakadawit ng kanyang pangalan kaugnay sa hindi masugpo ang drug trade sa nasabing bayan kaya isa siya sa inalisan ng police power ng National Police Commission (Napolcom) dahil nalalapit na naman umano ang eleksyon 2019.

By Alex Galang at Ray Nadar

Ipinakita ni Mayor Khonghun ang plake ng pagkilala ni PNP Chief Dela Rosa bilang top 1 implementator ang bayan ng Subic laban sa drug trade noong Oktubre 2016. Alex Galang

Si Mayor Khonghun, kasama ang 20 alkalde at isang gobernador ang inalisan ng police power ng Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) sa rekomendasyon ng Napolcom.

“I know myself, and people of my town knows me and even you the local media must have known me in my seven years as town mayor and my previous experience as provincial board member of Zamba­les,” pahayag ni Mayor Khonghun.

Ayon sa alkalde, kailangan umano ng Napolcom na masusing suriin at maire-validate ang mga ulat na wala siyang programa laban sa drug trade dahil nagmumukha lamang umano itong akusasyon na walang basehan.

Naniniwala rin ang nasabing alklade na nagsi­mula ang akusasyon laban sa kanya nang mag-um­pisang mapag-usapan ng mga taga Zambales ang posibilidad na pagtakbo nito bilang gobernador ng lalawigan.

Nabatid na binigyang parangal mismo ni Philippine National Police Chief Director Gen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa ang Subic Police Station bilang top 1 implementator sa Anti-Illegal Drugs Campaign “Double Barrel-Alpha” sa ilalim ng MPS-Class B level sa central Luzon noong Oktubre 2016.

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Base sa liham ng Napolcom na ipinadala kay Mayor Khonghun, bilang isa sa mga local government executives na binanggit sa ulat, inaalis sa kanya ang police power dahil umano sa bigong masawata ang drug trade sa kanyang lugar at ma­ging ang abuse of authority.

Gagawa umano sila ng mabilisang hakbang upang matanggal sa listahan ang kanyang pangalan na tila hindi umano dumaan sa masusing beripikasyon.

Source: philstar.com

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SUBIC BAY FREEPORT— US President Donald Trump is no stranger to controversy and he has often come in for sharp criticism both at home and overseas, but in the town of Subic in Zambales, he’s a hero.

Photo by: CNBC.com

Once home to one of the biggest US naval facilities in the world, Subic is a haven for retired servicemen who seem thrilled that Trump is visiting the Philippines, and convinced the divisive tycoon can do no wrong.
“Trump, I back him big time,” said Mike McCarthy, a former master chief with the US 7th Fleet, drinking in one of the American-themed bars that line Subic’s main street, with names like “Alaska,” “Crazy Horse” and “Rolling Stone.”

“They won’t allow him to govern, but he’s smarter than them, always a step ahead,” he said of opponents of Trump.

Big hit

The US president arrives in Manila on Sunday for a summit of Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders, on the last leg of a tour that has taken him to Japan, South Korea, China and Vietnam.
“He’s just doing things a different way, his tweeting, his strong words. But where has he made a wrong call yet?” McCarthy said.

A native of Florida who has lived in Subic for a decade, McCarthy said Trump’s respect for veterans meant he was a big hit with them and among the military.
“If he asked me to come and meet him in Manila, I’d be there in a shot,” he added.

Trump is set to meet President Duterte and will try to shore up relations strained by the mercurial Duterte’s notorious anti-US sentiment and his enthusiasm for better ties with Russia and China.
The Philippines has for decades been a key US defense ally and although the base was closed in 1992, Subic has since received a regular flow of retirees and visits by US warships for repairs, resupply and exercises.
About 220,000 Americans, many of them military veterans, live in the Philippines. An additional 650,000 visit each year, according to US Department of State figures.

Subic has maintained its American feel, with bars offering military discounts and restaurants serving anything from baby back ribs, buffalo wings and steaks to burgers named “shotgun” and an omelette called “the sheriff.”
It has tattoo parlors, liquor stores with signs advertising bourbon whiskey and a HarleyDavidson repair shop servicing the easy-rider motorcycles that have long been a fixture in the town of 100,000 people.

Tattoos and tank tops

Veteran James Goodman, 51, has owned six bars during his 13 years in Subic. His latest venture, “Sit-n-Bull,” has bar games, live sports and rock music that competes with the lively chatter of tattoo-clad patrons in tank tops.

The walls are adorned with vehicle license plates from Florida, Ohio, California and Nevada, next to a neon-lit USA sign in red, white and blue. A guitar hangs next to a wood carving of a native Indian and an American Football playoff schedule offering hot dog promotions.

“I’m very glad Donald Trump is coming here, I believe he and President Duterte will get along,” said Goodman, from New Jersey.
“He’s for the American people … I look forward to his leadership, I look forward to his reelection.
“I’d love to meet Trump, I’d love to buy him a beer.”

Appreciating Trump

His business partner, Ronn Oliver, 54, who runs a nearby restaurant of the same name, says veterans appreciate Trump and recognize his shrewdness.
“He knows what he’s doing, he shocks, but he sets up his opponents, he plays them, he knows what reaction he’s gonna get,” said Oliver, a former serviceman and commercial fisherman from Seattle, Washington.

“He needs to build more support, so people can catch up with what he’s doing. They’ve gotta give him a couple of years to get into it.”
Christopher Lamb, 48, a fisherman who said he was from Florida, says he shook Trump’s hand four decades ago. Wearing a baseball cap and white vest, he offers a few slurred words that show his pride in Trump’s rise to the presidency.

“I met this man, he was nothing then, and now he’s the most powerful man in the world,” Lamb said.

Lone dissenter

Retiree Mike Allen, 66, from Ohio, has lived in Subic for a year and recognizes he might be the lone dissenter when it comes to Trump.
“The military guys here, they love him,” he said, with a shake of the head.

“He says one thing one day and another thing the next. He’s isolating us and he loves white supremacists. An American president can’t be like that.”

Source: pressreader.com/Philippine Daily Inquirer

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A helicopter dropping confetti from the air and tugboats giving water salute highlighted the opening of the month-long celebration for the 25th founding anniversary of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority on Monday.

Led by senior officials of the agency, the program officially started with a flag-raising ceremony that was followed by a motorcade from the SBMA administration building to the Harbor Point Ayala Mall where a job fair and a regional oratorical competition were held.

PHOTOS: (clockwise from left) SBMA officials led by Directors Tomas Lahom III, Stefani Saño and Julius Escalona lead the raising of the Philippine flag at the kick-off of the SBMA 25th Anniversary celebration on Monday, Nov. 6., Tugboats execute a water salute near the Alava Pier during the kick-off of the SBMA 25th Anniversary celebration on Monday, Nov. 6, SBMA vehicles and a motorbike group join a motorcade during the kick-off of the SBMA 25th Anniversary celebration on Monday, Nov. 6.

In his message during the opening program, SBMA Director Tomas Lahom III noted that the dream of transforming the former US Naval Base into a bustling free port like Singapore and Hong Kong has not yet been fully realized.

“Fortunately, the SBMA now has a chairman and administrator in the person of Atty. Wilma Eisma whose vision is that the agency can reach its target by the year 2022,” Lahom added. “So, perhaps, we should now aim to do in five years what we have thus failed to do in 25 years — the full development of Subic Bay.”

Meanwhile, SBMA Senior Deputy Administrator for Operations and 25th Anniversary Committee Chairperson Marcelino Sanqui said the theme “SBMA @25 Celebrating the Past, Forging the Nation’s Future” was chosen for the occasion in recognition of the historical role that the Subic agency has played in the economic growth of the country.

Sanqui pointed out that Subic literally rose from the ashes of the Mount Pinatubo eruption and the subsequent pullout of the US Navy in 1991 to become the premier free port in the country, and a model for military base conversion in the world. “If only for this, the SBMA has a very rich history worth remembering,” he added.

Under the month-long celebration, the SBMA has scheduled various events on the following dates: Nov. 11, 5:30 a.m. onwards — Color Run, Zumba Party, Water Salute (Waterfront Road); PAF Static Aircraft Display (Subic Bay International Airport);

Nov. 18, 7:30 a.m. onwards — SBMA LED Brass Band Exhibition, Games (Remy Field); SBMA’s Got Talent (Subic Gym); and Lighting of Christmas Tree (Boardwalk Event Center); Nov. 24, 8:00 a.m. onwards — Ecumenical Mass, Awarding of Pioneer Investors and Employees, Air Show, Water Salute (Bldg. 229/Waterfront Road); PMMA Silent Drill, PAF Band Drill (Mini Golf Open Field); Opening of Photo Exhibit and Memorabilia Display, Unveiling of New Museum (Harbor Point Ayala Malls); Float and Foot Parade (Waterfront Road); and Tribute to Volunteers, Fireworks Display (Volunteers Shrine).

Meanwhile, on Nov. 24 to 26, there will be the Subic Bay Grand Sale at the Remy Field and all tourism establishments in the Freeport, which shall also be the venue for the nighttime Entertainment Bazaar and Food Festival. The participating hotels, restaurants, theme parks, and shops will offer discounted prices on products and services, with booths offering items from Subic locators and the surrounding communities.

The SBMA will also sponsor a music festival with the country’s top DJs performing at the Remy Field for two nights.

The anniversary program will be capped by the Subic Pride Parade at 3:00 p.m. on Nov. 26 from the Magsaysay Gate to the Boardwalk Event Center.

Source: subicnewslink.blogspot.com

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