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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SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — A United States (US) missile destroyer with at least 310 personnel has recently docked in this freeport as advanced security for US President Donald Trump who is set to visit the country next week.

by:Franco G. Regala

Photo by: wikipedia.com

Sources from the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority’s (SBMA’s) Law Enforcement Department said the USS Arleigh Burke arrived and docked at Alava Pier in Subic last Tuesday, ahead of Trump’s visit for a meeting among 10 Southeast Asian defense ministers with counterparts from eight other countries, including the US, Russia and China.

Source: Manila Bulletin

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There will be window hours for trucks during the truck ban imposed by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) at the Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) from Clark to Balintawak, and also along EDSA from Balintawak to Magallanes.

By Chito A. Chavez

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Emmanuel Miro of the Technical Working Group on Traffic Management said trucks carrying perishable items will now be allowed from 12:01 A.M. to 4:00 A.M. from November 13 to 15.

Earlier, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Committee on Security, Peace and Order, and Emergency Preparedness and Response (CSPOEPR) declared that all trucks and closed vans will be prohibited from traversing the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) from Clark to Balintawak from November 12 to 15 to ensure the smooth flow of traffic for the delegates to the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) Summit.

Aside from SCTEX and NLEX, all heavy vehicles are also barred from traversing EDSA from Balintawak to Magallanes during the same period, according to which is composed of 21 member agencies.

Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Officer-in-Charge (OIC) and CSPOEPR chairperson Catalino S. Cuy added that from November 11 to 15, motorists should expect intermittent traffic stops in the following designated ASEAN lanes in the Makati area: Arnaiz Avenue, Makati Avenue, Parkway Drive, and along EDSA in the Makati area.

During that period, rerouting will also be implemented along Sen. Jose W. Diokno Boulevard, Jalandoni, V. Sotto, Bukaneg, and A. Dela Rama in Pasay City while occasional traffic disruptions will be experienced along EDSA, Pasay Road, and Makati Avenue in Makati City. The same is also expected along EDSA in Pasay, Makati, Mandaluyong, and Quezon City.

Cuy also advised the public to plan their trips as the whole CCP Complex will be closed on the same dates after being designated as an ASEAN Delegates Zone.

“We urge the public to veer away from the said areas and take alternate routes to avoid being inconvenienced by the heavy traffic while the ASEAN Summit is ongoing,” he says.

The truck ban and rerouting scheme are part of the security preparations being carried out by the ASEAN CSPOEPR for a safe and peaceful ASEAN Summit.

Source: news.mb.com.ph

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