By Jonas Reyes

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — A former local newspaper publisher was found murdered inside a housing area here on Monday. Zambales Todays News publisher and US Navy retiree Sonny Almazan was found dead inside his home in Binictican on Monday Morning by his driver Renato Barbadillo

According to the Investigation Division of the Law Enforcement Department of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA-LED), two women were identified as the suspects in the murder of Almazan. The two women were believed to be the companions of the victim the night when he was killed.

Barbadillo told investigators that the two females were the same persons whom the 69-year-old Almazan asked to fetch from Kalaklan Gate at about 9:00 pm Sunday night. Barbadillo disclosed that he transported the two women to Almazan, who was waiting at the Breadtime bakery near Ayala Mall.

He also said that after taking the two to Almazan, the victim told the driver to leave them as Almazan drove the Toyota Fortuner SUV back to his home in Binictican. When the driver reported for work on Monday, he saw that the front door of the house was unlocked. Barbadillo reported that there were bloodstains on the floor leading to the victim’s bedroom, prompting him to call law enforcers.

Responding officers found the victim’s body slumped in a sitting position, soaked in blood. The officers stated that the victim sustained head injuries caused by a blunt instrument. They also noticed bloody footprints on the bedroom floor, a golf club and a metal cane with bloodstains, and broken liquor bottles. They added that there were no forced entries in the house.

Almazan’s cellular phone and a sling bag believed to contain cash were reportedly missing.

During investigation, Barbadillo confirmed that the two females caught on CCTV footages at Kalaklan Gate at about 9:25 pm were the same persons that he had fetched at the instruction of the victim. He further told the police that one of the females who visited Almazan, the one with a tattoo on her right thigh, had been in the company of his employer for about three or four times previously.

Meanwhile, CCTV footages also revealed that Almazan’s Toyota vehicle entered Binictican housing at 9:47 pm. This tallied with the account of a witness that Almazan arrived in his quarters with two female companions at 10:00 pm that Sunday night. The SBMA-LED said the investigation of Almazan’s death has been assumed by the Philippine National Police office in Morong, Bataan, which has territorial jurisdiction over the Binictican area.

SBMA Chairman Wilma T. Eisma said, “In light of this, we condole with the family of the victim and commit the assistance of the SBMA Law Enforcement Department to help in the investigation by the Morong Police Office so that the perpetrators of this crime might be arrested and put to justice.”

source: Zambales Herald Newsweekly FB Page

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Photo Credit: AES Corp

CANDELARIA, Zambales: The clamor to stop the planned construction of a P200-million ferronickel plant here is gaining more ground as residents from neighboring towns have also come out to express support to efforts to prevent what they call a looming environmental destruction of Zambales.

Residents in the northernmost town of Santa Cruz and Masinloc south of Candelaria, as well as those from other towns and even those residing abroad have signified their intention to join the petition to stop the joint venture among Westchinamin Corp., Easternreach Mining Group, Inc. and Fujian Hengrun Investment Co. Ltd. from China to build the ferronickel plant in Candelaria.

Angry Zambaleños expressing strong opposition to the project cite the experience of Santa Cruz town where vast tracts of farmlands and fishponds as well as creeks, rivers and other waterways were rendered unproductive by nickel siltation caused by mining activities.

Residents of Masinloc, in their petition, said they are worried that Lauis River may be destroyed by the ferronickel plant which reportedly has the blessing of President Rodrigo Duterte.

According to the newly-formed alliance of non-governmental organization, Zambales Lingap Kalikasan (Zalika), which spearheads the gathering of signatures for the petition, the town of Masinloc recently passed a resolution opposing the ferronickel plant project.

Concerned Citizens of Sta. Cruz (CCOS) Chairman Benito Molino, who has long advocated for a stop in mining activities in Zambales, is leading the residents in calling for a mass movement to abort the planned project.

Zalika believes the proposed ferronickel plant will only aggravate forest denudation and watershed degradation, as well as worsen erosion and siltation, water pollution, and destruction of traditional livelihood like farming, fishing and tourism.

“The experience of Santa Cruz where indiscriminate mining operations continue to wreak environmental havoc on the well-being of the residents as well as on their livelihood should be a lesson Candelaria must learn from,” the group said.

An estimated P250 million in livelihood annually by farmers and fisherfolk is reportedly lost because of destructive mining in Santa Cruz.

“We do not want a repeat of what happened to Santa Cruz and we want to preserve the beauty of Candelaria and promote livelihood activities that care for our environment,” Zalika’s petition said.

Candelaria Mayor Napoleon Edquid earlier sought to allay fears of environmental degradation for the town because of mining.

In a recent public hearing, Edquid said the project would be the first of its kind in the country and would be using the most modern technology from China to be introduced by Hengrun.

Westchinamin, which already operated mining activities here, said it intends to mine nine barangay (villages) in the town for nickel laterite within a 2,000-hectare area in the mountains.

Candelaria residents, however, are determined in seeking a stop to the project and appeal to their local officials to make a stand against the ferronickel plant project.

source: manilatimes.net

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SUBIC FREEPORT – The Bureau of Customs-Port of Subic, led the destruction of more or less P950,000 worth of used tires, used household and personal effects in Guiguinto, Bulacan last Wednesday.

Aside from the representatives from the Commission on Audit (COA), the destruction was also witnessed by the representatives from the local government of Guiguinto as well as members of the media.

Used tires, although not abandoned, are prohibited from being brought into the country as provided for in the Letter of Instruction No. 1086, Series of 1980.

Meanwhile, the used household and personal effects had been abandoned by the consignee and subsequently forfeited in favor of the government.

The items were shredded and disposed of in the facility of EPY-ECO Auction and Waste Disposal Services, the accredited service provider of the Port of Subic for the condemnation of contrabands and abandoned goods.

Condemnation of abandoned and other seized contrabands have been made public as ordered by Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña for transparency.

The destruction of the abandoned and forfeited goods was led by lawyer Enrico Turingan, Deputy Collector for Operations of the Port of Subic.

source:
mb.com.ph

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The Department of National Defense (DND) has extended its condolences to the family and loved ones of Japanese Sergeant Maehara Suguru who died in a road accident inside Subic Freeport, Olongapo City, last Tuesday.

DND Public Affairs Chief Arsenio Andolong (AP / MANILA BULLETIN)

“Sgt. Suguru was in a vehicle on an administrative mission when it collided with a truck along the Clark Subic Expressway on October 2, 2018,” said DND Public Affairs Chief Arsenio Andolong in a statement on Monday.

Andolong said the most unfortunate vehicular accident took place while Suguru was in the country as a member of the Japan Ground Self Defense Force (JGSDF) contingent.

The JGSDF contingent is participating in the Kaagapay ng Mandirigmang Dagat (KAMANDAG) 2018, a counterterrorism joint military exercise with military forces of the Philippines and the United States.

The GSDF reported that the 38-year-old Suguru was killed when the van he was riding in to deliver food supplies to other members participating in the drill figured in a collision with a truck.

“The vehicle was driven by a Filipino civilian, while the other passenger was another Japanese soldier. Both were injured in the accident but have been released from hospital,” he added.

source: mb.com.ph

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Photo credit: pristine-energy.com.ph

MANUFACTURERS in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone may be forced to lay off at least 30,000 workers to survive the rationalization of tax incentives under the current version of the Trabaho bill.

House Bill 8083, or the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-Quality Opportunities (Trabaho bill), could be brutal for the Subic work force. The measure that seeks to slash corporate income tax (CIT) on one hand and overhaul incentives on the other will compel locators in the free-port area to reduce its manpower.

Danny J. Piano, president of the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce (SBFCC), told the BusinessMirror this could be the consequence if the government insists on passing the current version of the Trabaho bill. Estimates by the SBFCC put job losses at 30,000 to as many as 40,000.

The estimated job losses account for 22.5 percent to 30 percent of the nearly 133,000 workers, the majority of which are locals, employed in the economic zone. Wilma T. Eisma, chairman and administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), said the free port area employs 132,916 workers as of May.

Eisma argued there will really be massive layoffs in Subic if the Trabaho bill, as passed by the House of Representatives, will be enacted into law. Piano couldn’t agree more.

“This [layoffs] won’t be happening all at the same time since companies have different transition periods depending on how long they are already getting their current incentives, and only if the House-approved bill will be the final one,” Piano said.

He explained locators are considering moving out of the country if the 5-percent gross income earned (GIE) granted to them is removed, as proposed under the Trabaho bill. Locators pay this in lieu of local and national taxes.

“Nobody has intimated yet that they will definitely move out. What they are saying is that they will consider moving out depending on the final bill,” Piano said.

“However, the currently approved House Bill 8083, which will raise their [locators 10 years or more here] taxes from 5-percent GIE to 28-percent CIT by 2021, is unacceptable. What seemed to be an acceptable compromise is to extend the incentives by 10 years so that during the transition, they will already fall into the 20-percent CIT bracket,” he added.

Under the Trabaho bill, CIT will be reduced gradually down to 20 percent in 2029 from 30 percent. On the other hand, it will remove a number of incentives, including the 5-percent GIE, which locators deem crucial in their decision to stay here.

The SBMA, as the manager and administrator of the Subic free-port area, is trying to come up with a compromise that will satisfy the interests both of the government and the locators, Eisma said in an interview with the BusinessMirror.

“The sad reality is if Trabaho bill gets passed as worded right now, there will really be looming loss of jobs. We just recently conducted a survey on some of our locators and they said that is what is going to happen,” Eisma explained in a mix of English and Filipino.

From this survey, the SBMA estimated 22,000 workers are at risk of losing their employment. However, she admitted the numbers could be higher, as firms that will be most affected are manufacturers that directly and indirectly employs thousands.

“I believe there can be a middle ground where the target of the Department of Finance can be met, and, at the same time, our targets could also be met. I’m trying to work on that,” Eisma explained.

“My agenda is to be able to maintain the sustainability and the competitiveness of Subic not just vis-à-vis the other zones, but more like the country, because we are competing with Cambodia, with Thailand. That competitiveness to me is very important to retain,” she added.

On the other hand, Piano said the Trabaho bill could attract more investors due to lower CIT, but it could also work against the government’s objective of creating jobs outside of Metro Manila, as investments in regional economic zones are seen to decrease with the removal of incentives.

“Companies locating outside of economic zones and free port [areas] will probably increase because of the lower CIT. Companies already inside will decrease because of the higher tax compared to what they are paying right now,” the SBFCC chief said.

Lawmakers from the House passed the Trabaho bill on third and final reading in September. The measure, which is the second package of the Duterte administration’s tax-reform program, is now being scrutinized by senators.

source: businessmirror.com.ph

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