Photo credit: corregidor.proboards.com

THE Central Luzon Regional Development Council (RDC-3) has commended the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) for developing the Freeport into a premier cruise ship destination in the country.

In a resolution passed during its 9th regular full-council meeting at the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) regional office on September 20, RDC-3 recognized the SBMA for its cruise ship tourism program and pledged its support to the agency effort.

“The growing number of cruise ship arrivals enabled the economic growth in Subic Bay Freeport and its surrounding provinces, namely Bataan, Zambales and
Pampanga,” the RDC-3 said.

The RDC 3 noted that the Department of Tourism has identified the cruise tourism industry as one of the economic drivers in achieving the annual target of 7.5 million tourists visiting the Philippines.

It also recognized that the development of the regional tourism sector was one of the key components of the SBMA’s 10-point program.

Neda assistant regional director Agustin C. Mendoza, who is also secretary of RDC 3, presented the citation to SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma on Tuesday, September 25.

In citing the SBMA, RDC-3 pointed out that Subic Bay Freeport “has accommodated cruise ship arrivals in February to June 2018 with an estimated value of more than P85 million of economic activity.”

This came in the form of income generated from cruise ship passengers’ visits to theme parks, local transportation costs, port fees, purchase of local products, dining, and other services provided by tourism-related establishments.

Eisma, who started the agency’s cruise tourism program, said that generating additional revenue for the Subic community, as well as neighboring areas in Central Luzon has been the goal of the program.

“That is what the SBMA was planning all along, to develop the Subic Bay Freeport into a premier cruise ship destination in the Philippines, and hence the gateway to other tourism destinations in the region,” Eisma said.

She added that Region 3, with Subic as entry point, has all the potentials for a sustainable cruise ship program because of its diverse attractions that included nature parks, historical landmarks, sports and wellness facilities, as well as tailored experiences

“It is an honor to receive recognition from the Central Luzon Regional Development Council. But we believe that the cruise ship tourism industry here has barely scratched the tip of the proverbial iceberg. There are a lot more that Subic and the rest of Central Luzon can accomplish and gain,” Eisma also said.

The Subic Bay Freeport Zone is ideally suited as a cruise ship hub because of its 15 piers and wharves that are capable of handling all types of sea vessels.

Likewise, Subic is prized as a maritime hub because of its strategic location in the Southeast Asian region, and its accessibility via a network of highways that also connect to major air terminals like the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila and the Clark International Airport in Pampanga.

Subic has hosted 17 cruise ship arrivals since February this year. The SBMA Tourism Department said that from five to 10 more will be coming before the yearend, while 20 bookings have already been confirmed for next year.-Ric Sapnu

source: sunstar.com.ph

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Brigadier General Chris McPhillips, Commanding General of the 3d Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Major General Nathaniel Casem, Inspector General of the Philippine Navy, and Brigadier General Melquiades Ordiales, Deputy Commandant of the Philippine Marine Corps, open exercise KAMANDAG 2 during a ceremony at Subic Bay International Airport.

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — A joint military exercise being conducted by the United States, Japan, and the Philippines kicked off on Monday at the Subic Bay International Airport.

About 1,000 naval and marine troops from the three countries are set to participate in the military drill dubbed “Kaagapay ng mga Mandirigma ng Dagat” (KAMANDAG).

Capt. Jerber Anthony Belonio, director of the Marine Corps Public Affairs Office of the Philippine Marines, said KAMANDAG 2018 will be held from October 1 to 10 in various locations in Luzon.

Belonio said the training sites include Crow Valley in Tarlac province; Camp Gregorio Lim at Ternate town in Cavite province; and the Naval Education Training Command at San Antonio town in Zambales province.

Last week, amphibious landing crafts of the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force started arriving in this former US naval base for repair.

KAMANDAG is an acronym for the Filipino phrase “Kaagapay Ng Mga Mandirigma Ng Dagat,” or “Cooperation of Warriors of the Sea.”

The name emphasizes the close partnership between the Philippine and United States militaries, said an advisory from the US Embassy in Manila.

KAMANDAG aims to increase the overall U.S. and Philippine military readiness, improve bilateral responsiveness, and strengthen the working relationships between the participating countries.

The naval drills will focus on enhancing counter-terrorism capabilities, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief capabilities; as well as conducting humanitarian and civic assistance projects.

This is the second naval training of this scale to be held in the country.

source: globalnation.inquirer.net

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The Port of Subic generated P2.188 billion in revenues for the month of September, the highest revenue collection in its history, a collection report obtained by The Manila Bulletin showed.

(Jonas Reyes/MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)

The Subic port made history when its revenue collection in September posted a P93-million surplus for exceeding its target of P2.096 for the month based on the collection figures from the port.

The port achieved the highest-ever recorded collections in its revenue history also after the changing of guards, with Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña assigning lawyer Ma. Rhea M. Gregorio as its new district collector.

Gregorio was the collector of the Port of Manila and deputy collector for passenger services at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) before she assumed the top post in the Port of Subic.

Right on the job

In her first month in the job, the lady collector already found the key to positive revenues.

Subic port credited the September revenues to its “proper and correct” assessment and collection of duties and taxes from import shipments and Lapeña’s anti-corruption campaign.

Under Gregorio’s watch, the port has also pursued a “strategic partnership” with its stakeholders through constant dialogue and communication, it also said.

This, according to the Subic port, resulted to an “increase in volume of importation by 50.52 percent” for the month compared to the same period last year.

September collection figures indicated a year-on-year increase of 88 percent in terms of revenues.

Oil imports

The Port of Subic has been heavily relying on the continued oil imports entering the port for its monthly revenue collections.

The top tax-paying oil firms in Subic include the PTT Philippines Corp., Cebu Air, Inc., Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc., and Total Philippines Corp., among others.

Subic port broke out a back-to-back revenue slump and registered a surplus after it incurred collections shortfalls of P200 million and P300 million for the month of July and August, respectively.

Since February, Lapeña has been firing the heads of ports who did not achieve targets.

source: news.mb.com.ph

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Geneva-based Advantage Tankers has gone to Hanjin Heavy’s increasingly busy yard at Subic Bay in the Philippines and ordered four 114,000 dwt tankers. The aframaxes are costing $46m each and are scheduled to deliver in 2020 and 2021.

Hanjin Heavy’s giant Subic Bay yard has now managed to close out its available slots for 2020, something not many other yards of its size have yet been able to do.

Founded in 2014, Advantage Tankers is focused on aframaxes and suezmaxes and latterly handy product tankers.

Source: Splash247

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SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Single-use plastics, which are used only once and then thrown away or recycled, will no longer be allowed in workplaces of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) starting Oct. 1.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma Eisma on Thursday said the agency has decided to impose the ban as part of its solution to the growing global problem of pollution.

Single-use plastics, or disposable plastics, include plastic bags, straws, coffee stirrers, as well as soda and water bottles which form part of most food packagings, Eisma said.

“We should show good example and walk the talk,” she said.

Eisma said canteens, stores and other food establishments in SBMA buildings have been advised not to use plastic packagings and containers anymore.

Exempted from this regulation are goods in original plastic packaging. These, however, cannot be placed in new plastic bag or container upon purchase by consumers.

Aside from enforcing the single-use plastics ban, the SBMA will urge business locators here to join the “strawless” campaign, the recyclables collection program, and cooperate in an intensified anti-littering drive that will be implemented this coming October to further strengthen the agency’s War on Waste (WOW) campaign.

Eisma said single-use plastics account for most of marine pollution in the Subic Bay area, as could be seen from the trash that periodically pile up on the Freeport’s coastline mostly after typhoons or heavy rains.

“These plastic items are not only pollutive and harmful to wildlife and humans alike, but they also become an eyesore that negatively impact on the image of Subic as world-class Freeport,” she said.

“There is already a standing ban on the use of plastic bags and styrofoam packaging in the whole Subic Freeport, and now we are backing this up with the ban on single-use plastics and our straplastics and our strawless campaign because there is really an urgent need to save the environment — and this includes public health — from further degradation,” she added.

According to SBMA Ecology Center manager Amethya dela Llana, the intensified no-littering policy to be implemented in the Subic Bay Freeport aims to stop the dumping or throwing of garbage, rubbish or any kind of waste in parks, roads, beaches, forests, rivers, streams or on any open or public place in the Subic Freeport.

The same policy also makes it illegal for anybody to urinate, defecate or spit in public places, or throw cigarette butts anywhere in public areas.

Dela Llana added that it would also be illegal to dispose of litter from a boat or ship into a water body, and to transport uncovered, spilling, or leaking waste or waste containers within the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

The SBMA has set penalties for violators of the anti-littering rule: PHP1,500 for individual offenders and pet handlers, who would have the option to render four hours of community service instead; and PHP50,000 for companies or establishments per day until the violation is corrected.

The public is enjoined to report incidents of littering, and particular info like the license plate number of violators, to the SBMA Law Enforcement Department. (Malou Dungog/PNA)

Source: PTVNews

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