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SUBIC
BAY FREEPORT—A Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA)
official said on Tuesday that Korean shipbuilder Hanjin
Heavy Industries Corp.-Philippines (HHIC-Phil) that has
a $1.6-billion shipyard here is treated “like all the
other investors in Subic.”
Ramon
Agregado, SBMA senior deputy administrator for support
services, was responding on Tuesday to growing criticism
of alleged coddling by the SBMA of Hanjin, in whose
shipyard several accidents had already killed workers.
The SBMA had also lately been slammed for allowing
Hanjin to build high-rise housing for the latter’s
executives inside the economic zone’s virgin forest.
Hanjin and SBMA officials had justified the construction
by saying the facilities were built on an area that had
long been cleared by the Americans when they still
controlled Subic base, and that site formed part of the
US command’s naval magazine.
“While
Hanjin has extraordinary requirements because of its
tight construction and delivery schedule, we always
follow rules and regulations,” said Agregado on
Wednesday. “There were no shortcuts, although we try to
make the process more efficient.”
This, as
the Senate Committees on Economic Affairs and
Environment and Natural Resources called for a hearing
on Wednesday to determine whether Hanjin had received
preferential treatment from the agency.
Sen.
Loren Legarda, who authored a resolution seeking an
inquiry into the incentives and privileges granted to
Hanjin, said the inquiry was meant to “ensure that [the]
preferred status of investors in economic zones is not
abused.”
On
Sunday, at a press conference in Olongapo City that
commemorated the International Workers’ Memorial Day,
Party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel of Akbayan
directed the attention of members of the House of
Representatives to the plight of workers at the Hanjin
shipyard, where several workers have died since 2006,
when it opened.
Hontiveros had described Hanjin as “a foreign company
enjoying the graces of Malacañang.”
Agregado,
by way of denying further any soft treatment of Hanjin,
said the South Korean firm is on track working at a fast
pace in the face of orders for ships that it must
complete before the deadlines set by shipping- company
buyers.
He noted
that while Hanjin signed up as an investor here only in
February 2006, it is now set to deliver the first ship
built in Subic this June, or just a little over two
years since starting Philippine operations.
He added
the firm has become a pioneer firm at
Subic’s
Redondo
Peninsula—putting up power and water services in the
area, thus opening up the former US Navy training site
to more investors.
“That’s
the Hanjin factor,” Agregado said, acknowledging that
the Hanjin project has been prioritized because of its
huge economic impact. “But so far, no other locator in
Subic has complained about this. If ever Hanjin gets
prioritized, it’s not to the prejudice of the other
investors.”
“There
is no special privilege for them. We use the full
regulatory powers of the SBMA to make it comply with
rules and regulations,” he added.
Agregado
said the SBMA had prohibited some of Hanjin’s
importations due to some pending collectibles from the
company, and had penalized it for violations on
environmental clearance certificate requirements and for
its use of subcontractors that were not accredited by
the SBMA.
“We have
even denied Hanjin’s claim for an exemption on wharfage
fee, even when it has built the wharf for its use,” he
said. “There’s a continuing effort to make Hanjin comply
with regulations and guidelines.”
He said
these guidelines include those that apply to workers’
wages and working conditions, immigration policies,
shipyard operation which has been coordinated with the
Maritime Industry Authority and compensation and
relocation benefits for settlers affected by the
shipyard expansion.
He said
around 17,000 workers are now employed by Hanjin and its
subcontractors, and that the company avails itself of
products and services from local food suppliers,
transportation firms and housing providers, as well as
leisure and recreational establishments.
The firm
has also built a skills development and training center
in Subic, which is now the world’s largest training
facility dedicated to shipbuilding workers, and
contributes to technology transfer by sending its best
trainees to Korea for additional training. |
