Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority
The Subic Bay Freeport (SBF) or what was the former US Naval facility in Subic Bay into a self-sustaining tourism, industrial, commercial, financial, and investment center to generate employment opportunities .
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[edit] History
On March 13, 1992, Philippine Congress passed Republic Act 7227 known as the Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992, creating the Subic Bay Freeport in anticipation of the pullout of the US naval base facilities. Section 13 of RA 7227 created the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and freeport incentives that was lobbied for by Richard Gordon and inserted as an amendment during the bicameral committee hearings. Pursuant to such, Gordon, then the mayor of Olongapo, became the first SBMA chairman.[1]
Mayor Gordon with 8,000 volunteers took over the facility to preserve and protect US$8 billion worth of property and facilities from looting when the last U.S. Navy helicopter carrier USS Belleau Wood sailed out of Subic Bay on November 24, 1992 and started the military base conversion into a freeport like Hong Kong and Singapore. During its fourth anniversary on November 24, 1996, Subic Bay hosted the leaders of 18 economies during the 4th APEC Leaders' Summit who were all impressed with the emerging investment haven with companies like FedEx Express, Enron, Coastal Petroleum now El Paso Corporation, Taiwan computer giant Acer, and France telecoms company Thomson SA.
Richard Gordon was SBMA chairman until June 1998 when newly elected president, Joseph Estrada, issued Administrative Order No. 1 replacing him with a political ally, former Bataan Representative and Harvard-trained Felicito C. Payumo. In 2004, Payumo was replaced by Francisco Licuanan as Chairman and Alfredo C. Antonio as Administrator. In 2006, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo appointed Commodore Feliciano G. Salonga as Chairman/Head of Agency, and Armand Arreza as Administrator/CEO of the SBMA.[2] Exports had averaged a billion dollars since 1997, jobs generated reached more than 60,000 which was twice the highest number of jobs available when Subic Bay was still a US naval base.[1]. In June 2006, Hanjin Shipping opened over the weekend a P40-million modern training center in the Subic Bay Freeport. Hanjin's facility in Subic covers 349 hectares with total investments of US$1 billion. The project expects to generate at least 15,000 new jobs in Subic.
[edit] See also
- Port of Subic
- Subic Bay Freeport Zone (formerly U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay)
- Subic Bay International Airport (formerly Naval Air Station Cubi Point)
- Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (formerly Clark Air Base)
[edit] References
- ^ a b The Manila Times Internet Edition | SPECIAL REPORT > Gordon-Payumo row explodes
- ^ SBMA officials welcomed as rain soaks Subic rites
