President Rodrigo Duterte has repealed an executive order issued by former President and incumbent Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo that created separate posts for Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority administrator and chairperson.

Duterte has signed on September 25 Executive Order No. 42 merging the SBMA administrator and chairperson posts. The SBMA administrator will also be the chief executive officer of the SBMA.

Executive Order No. 42 repeals Executive Order No. 340 issued by Arroyo in 2004.

“The President shall appoint the Administrator of the SBMA, who shall be the ex officio Chairman of the SBMA Board,” Duterte’s EO read.

The powers, functions, and duties of the SBMA administrator would be as follows, with new or updated items in bold:

To execute, administer and implement the policies and measures approved and adopted by the SBMA Board;
To directly administer and supervise the operations and day-to-day business activities of the SBMA;
To exercise the powers of control and supervision over decisions and actions of subordinate officers;
To appoint, transfer, remove, suspend or otherwise discipline any employee of the SBMA in accordance with law;
To represent the SBMA in all dealings with offices, agencies and instrumentalities of the Government and with all persons and entities, public or private, domestic or foreign, unless otherwise directed by the President or by the SBMA Board;
To sign all permits, certificates, authorizations, and other official documents issued by the SBMA in the exercise of its governmental, regulatory, propriety, and commercial powers;
To execute, on behalf of the SBMA, all contracts, agreements and other instruments affecting the interests of the SBMA or where the SBMA is a contracting party, duly approved by the SBMA Board;
To direct and supervise the preparation of the agenda for the meetings of the SBMA Board;
To preside at the meetings of the SBMA Board; and
To perform such other functions and duties as the President may direct, or as may be assigned to him/her by the SBMA Board.
The order will take effect immediately.

Malacañang, meanwhile, is yet to clarify how the executive order would affect SBMA administrator Wilma Eisma and Chairman Martin Diño.

Duterte appointed Eisma as administrator in December 2016 amid a power struggle at the SBMA following Diño’s administrative order declaring that he is assuming “the functions of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman/Administrator pursuant to Republic Act No. 7227.”

Then SBMA administrator Roberto Garcia resigned from his post.

Source: gmanetwork.com

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Atty. Wilma T. Eisma swears in as the Chairperson and Administrator of SBMA by virtue of Executive Order no. 42 that repeals EO 340, an earlier EO that split SBMA’s leadership.

by Lolito Go

photo credits: Bong Eisma and Jonas Reyes

Eisma is the first woman to have been appointed to the post. With this, the leadership brawl in SBMA has finally come to an end. We can only hope that the other party will take the matter with humility and magnanimity so we can move forward and harness all our energies and resources instead for the fruition of our dreams of a greater Subic Bay.

To Atty. Eisma, we believed in you and we continue to believe in you for as long as you keep up your longstanding work ethics and philosophies. For as long as you keep up your lowkey leadership principles, which are divorced from politics and the usual hedonistic intentions of those who are in power.

We will celebrate this day not just because of one man’s—or I should say one woman’s—victory but because of a grander victory that belongs to the people, especially those who work or do business inside the Freeport. “Political will” also scores a win from this executive decision. It means that the government cannot be swayed (at least not all the time) by partisanship and political beholdenness.

You have our back, Ms. Amy. You are destined to lead the way and purge Subic Bay of its parasites. You have more balls and guts than all of them guys put together. You put the ACE in Eisma. And everybody knows that the ACE trumps the KING at any given time.

Source: facebook.com

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The powers and functions of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman Martin Dino have been transferred to SBMA Administrator Wilma Eisma.

This was contained in an Executive Order (EO) Number 42.

The document was signed in the Palace yesterday.

This supercedes the Executive Order previously issued by Former President Gloria Arroyo that gave separate tasks to the SBMA Chairman and the SBMA Administrator.

The EO did not state any reason for the move.

Dino is reportedly set to be appointed to a post at the Department of Interior and Local Government.

Source: thestandard.com.ph

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Subic Bay Freeport-Five hundred volunteers joined the 3rd Protect the Bay Coastal Clean-up led by Redondo Peninsula Energy (RP Energy) in Sitio Kinabuksan, Brgy. Cawag, Subic in line with the International Coastal Clean-up Day.

BASURA PALIT GAMIT ESKWELA. SBMA Administrator Atty. Wilma Eisma, Director Chito Lahom, and RP Energy CSR Officer Jason Gavina distribute school supplies to the students of Kinabuksan Integrated School who participated in the coastal clean-up.

The activity was attended by students of the nearby school, residents and local officials.

“Beyond doing a clean-up, we want to instill environmental awareness among the youth. We use this as a venue to also teach them about proper waste segregation and recycling. In other words, start them young.” says RP Energy Corporate Social Responsibility Officer Jason Gavina.
RP Energy, in partnership with Kinabuksan Integrated School, also launched the Basura-Palit-Gamit-Eskwela program, a spin-off project wherein students can exchange collected recyclables and other trash for school supplies.

Meralco PowerGen VP for External Affairs Litz Santana says “We are happy that the Protect the Bay Initiative has become a multi-sectoral effort and platform, engaging volunteers from the government, to parents, to fisherfolks. It is them who will sustain the success of this program.”

Protect the Bay Initiative is RP Energy’s flagship program for the environment and its goal is to build a community of volunteers and organizations that will promote environmental stewardship and create sustainable livelihood within the Subic Bay communities.

School Principal Alex Viado quips “We actually consider this as a best-practice in our school and we have adopted this program in our curriculum. Since we launched the Protect the Bay Initiative, we are now doing a monthly clean-up drive led by our own students.”

Launched in April, Protect the Bay Initiative is supported by DENR, Philippine Coast Guard, CENRO-Olongapo, Zambales PENRO, SBMA, Subic LGU, Cawag LGU, DepEd Subic, Kinabuksan Integrated School Parent Teacher and Community Association, Rotary Club of Quezon City, Rotary Club of Freeport Zone, Junior Chamber International-Olongapo, Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary, Rotaract Club of Kolehiyo Ng Subic, Rotaract Club of Subic Bay Freeport, Calapandayaan Fisherfolk Cooperative, Subic Bay Integrated Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council, among others.

Simultaneous to the event, SBMA Ecology, with support from RP Energy, also led a coastal clean-up along the Boardwalk participated by the different locators and employees within Subic Bay Freeport Zone. Twenty eight (28) boats manned by fisherfolks of Subic and Olongapo participated for the offshore clean up activity.

RP Energy is the developer of a 2×300 megawatt power plant in Brgy. Cawag, Subic, Zambales. It is a consortium composed of Meralco PowerGen, Aboitiz Power, and Taiwan Cogeneration International Corporation.

Source: iorbitnews.com

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Amid the gag order imposed by the House Bases Conversion committee between the warring top officials of the government owned state agency, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) two months ago, a drastic measure adopted as to prevent damaging the image of the country’s first Freeport and selection as foreign investment site.

BY WILLIE E. CAPULONG

Ergo, during the interregnum awaiting President Duterte’s action on the leadership question between Chairman Martin B. Dino and lady lawyer Wilma T. Eisma, administrator and CEO of the former US Naval Base facilities here, the focus now among the agency’s management and staff workers are busy setting activities for the grand celebration of the 25th anniversary of the base conversion into the Philippine’s first and premiere Special Economic Zone and Freeport on November 24.

Being eyed as main personalities for the observance of the agency birth as created by Republic Act 7227, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) are President Duterte and former President Fidel V. Ramos and the former SBMA managers.

It’s still three months to go for the big day. In the meantime, how is the upbringing of Subic Bay today? asked a business journalist friend based in Metro Manila.

The inquiry jolted me as I could not provide a quickie answer as to the Freeport status as I was focus on status of the agency leadership and expressing dismay on the slow foot inaction of Malacanang.

So, the old journalist who has cut short his base wandering activities only in the morning to prevent occurrence of heat stroke to seek information of whether Subic is still thriving business community, with its maritime, industrial and tourism attraction earnings.

Data gathered from the different offices as of June 2017, there are still 1, 699 locators with over $10 billion total investments; 121,824 workforces; and was visited by 7.89 million visitors last year.

SBMA locators and enterprises generated 11,002 new jobs last year and the breakdown of employee by industry sectors as follows: services, 54, 458; shipbuilding &marine related, 38,041; manufacturing, 12,780 and others, 7, 374, or a grand total of 112,653 workforces as compared to 2015 level of 101,651.

On SBMA contribution to the national economy, locators contributed income tax share , three percent of the five percent gross earnings amounting to P486 million while the agency shelled out P292 million to local government units (LGUs) contiguous to the Zone area, representing their 2 percent share of earnings.

The local BIR unit hiked its collection performance last year, registering a 26 percent growth of P2.18 billion while the BOC collection unit suffered nine percent decline from P16.4 billion in 2015 to P14.9 billion in 2016.

Landmarks
Last week I was visited my granddaughter with some of her dormitory mates at the UP Diliman for a despidida weekend for Chloe was leaving this month for a one year study grant at Hokkaido, Japan.

They enjoyed the cold water falls at El Kabayo which is now under the management of the Pastolan Indigenous group and went Friday Night drinking Safari at the Central Business District.

Freeport landmarks was a hot topic. Hearing them asking the most popular and visited site among the day visitors of Subic Bay, was not the Broadway beach (supposed the crown jewel of Subic Bay), not the Spanish Gate, not the 299 flag pole or the San Roque Church.

When the visitors said “sirit na” an Olongapo classmate, who joined them, declared “ It’s Meat Plus” eatery.Yes folks more people go to Meat Plus for steaks, hamburgers and meat meals. No wonder why many SBMA employees’ workers claimed that the main reason why Chairman Dino is reluctant to leave Subic Bay is the absence of Meat Plus outlet in Metro Manila!

Source: subicsun.com

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