MENTION Subic Bay, and the country’s special economic zone, with its bustling industry and exciting tourist destinations, comes to mind. In fact, Subic Bay may be one of the most exciting places not only in the Philippines, but maybe throughout Southeast Asia, as well.
The Subic Bay Freeport Zone spans a total 13,800.60 hectares of what used to be the site of the largest overseas military navy station for the United States, then referred to as the Subic Bay Naval Base.
The Spanish first realized the potential of the harbor, building facilities and canals there in the late 1800s. After which, the Americans took over upon reigning in the Spanish-American war.
After almost a century of US occupation, utilizing the bay as a strategic site for logistical support and manning several wars, the Americans were forced from their Philippine bases due to a combined act of Mother Nature and human intervention. The US was persuaded to pull out its forces, after the nearby Mount Pinatubo erupted in 1991, and the Philippine Senate decided it was time for the Americans to leave, refusing to renew the long-standing foreign bases agreement.
Today many consider the Subic Bay Freeport Zone’s greatest asset, in terms of economic potential, to be its deepwater natural harbor. For instance, Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Co. currently utilizes this harbor as a gateway for its high-end shipbuilding facility on the north end of the bay. Employing over 7,000 workers, this state-of-the-art shipbuilding facility, the world’s fourth-largest shipbuilding facility, is valued at over $1 billion and produces huge containerized transport ships.
Aside from shipyard, more than 610 companies are based in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, the sister free-port zone of nearby Clark Freeport Zone. Subic is divided into four key investment areas, namely, the central business district, Subic Gateway, Subic Bay Industrial Park and the Subic Techno Park.
Additional commercial activities driving the free-port zone’s economic engine are manufacturing-related businesses; electronic communications and computer industries; warehousing and transshipment; banking; education; and, of course, a vibrant tourism, resort and lodging industry. All development and investment of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone fall under the jurisdiction of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).
Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce
Working hand-in-hand with the SBMA to further make Subic Bay a place to be in the Southeast Asia is the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce (SBFCC), which celebrated its 20th founding anniversary this year.
The SBFCC, founded in 1995, serves as the organization of Subic free-port-registered firms and boasts of members representing investors and locators from 24 countries around the world. The chamber takes pride in its active involvement in business issues in the Subic Bay Freeport, as well as other concerns affecting businesses in the Subic Bay community.
For 20 years, the SBFCC has listed significant milestones. Since 1995 the SBFCC has been working with the SBMA in policy-making to ensure that the SBMA will come out with policies best suited for the current investments in the free port and to maintain the low cost of doing business in the free port.
From 1995 to 1998, the chamber encouraged the SBMA to prioritize investments in service companies, like cable TV and gas stations, as these specific businesses did not exist yet inside the free-port at the time.
In 2000 the SBFCC Security Committee started working with the SBMA Law Enforcement Department to ensure that all forms of crime inside the free port will be eliminated, and all businesses and residents will be secured.
In 2004 the chamber formed a strong relationship with the Subic-Clark Alliance for Development Council, a mutual bond between the two largest economic zones in the country.
In 2005 the SBFCC came out with the State of the Freeport Address (Sofa), an annual event wherein the incumbent SBMA chairman reports to the SBFCC and to the general public as to how the free port is currently doing in terms of finances, business policies and development. The Sofa is in line with the chamber’s objective to promote transparency in governance and to strengthen the integrity of the business community in the zone.
In 2009 the Subic chamber also displayed fortitude by opposing national government agencies on matters, including the Bureau of Immigration “verification” of foreigner documentation; submitted opposition paper to the Department of Labor and Employment inspection blitz of locators during the 2009 Christmas season; requested the Energy Regulatory Commission for review of electricity rates; and submitted position paper requesting the ban of billboards on the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx), which is still in effect up to the present.
Also, for the first time in 2013 and 2014, the SBFCC was able to go beyond the borders of the Subic Freeport Zone to help the victims of Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan) in Tacloban province and other parts of Leyte by reconstructing a school building in Guindag-an Palo, Leyte; rebuilding a church in San Roque Palo, Leyte; and helping rebuild lives in the community of Solano, Leyte.
Last year the SBFCC’s annual blood drive broke its all-time record for the most number of blood donors. In its effort to save lives during calamities and emergency situations, the chamber was able to produce more than sufficient number of blood bags for the Philippine Red Cross.
For these accomplishments, SBFCC President Rose B. Baldeo said that the chamber has become more motivated and dedicated to serve the general membership and continue to become their voice in the business community.
“The SBFCC is motivated by the support it gets not only from its members, but from the cooperation shared by the SBMA and other government agencies,” Baldeo said during the interview by the BusinessMirror.
For this year’s anniversary, the SBFCC staged an event-series starting off with a business exposition, dubbed as the SBFCC Business Expo 2015, on February 12 and 13 at the promenade area of the Harbor Point Ayala Malls, featuring locators inside the Subic Freeport Zone, as well as other businesses from Olongapo, Zambales and Bataan.
The expo showcased the various businesses in and out of the Subic Freeport Zone and showed how dynamic the area is, in terms of variations and diversity in business—from manufacturing and import-export businesses to shipping, maritime, logistics, hotel and leisure, food and entertainment to wholesale and retail establishments.
The expo began with a motorcade around the central business district of the free port, which was joined by SBF business establishments and companies, and businesses from Olongapo City and Zambales province.
On February 12 at 6 p.m. the SBFCC, in cooperation with Harbor Point Ayala Malls, also held a pre-Valentine’s Day dinner-concert featuring world-renowned balladeer David Pomeranz.
“These events are the chamber’s way of expressing gratitude to its members, friends in the business community and in the government service for their relentless support to the goals of the SBFCC,” Baldeo said.
SBFCC members can expect for a more proactive chamber under Baldeo’s wings. “We want to reach out more to our members and be on their side, if ever issues and concerns arise while doing business in the free-port zone. We want to offer more services, like workshops, trainings, informative short discussions on issues affecting them. Moreover, we will continue to be the helping hands to communities in and around the Subic Bay Area,” she said.
Having said this, Baldeo has outlined the upcoming plans for the chamber, which include the following:
- Promote tourism and business development of the free port on an international level.
- Continue to encourage all SBMA departments for professional, transparent, and timely information dissemination.
- Lobby for improved tax incentives or tax holidays for current and new investors.
- Continue to act as the voice in the business community in all areas of concern.
- Take affirmative action to ensure effective measures of law enforcement are being utilized against illegal/dynamite/cyanide fishing within Subic Bay.
- Lobby enforcement of penalties against the violators of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act.
- Campaign for the restoration and preservation of the free port as one of the cleanest tourist destination in Asia.
Aside from priming Subic as a special economic and free-port zone, coupled with exciting leisure and tourist destinations, real-estate developers here have started attracting retirees from various countries. Capitalizing on clean, safe, environment-friendly and peaceful community of Subic Bay, condominiums have been built, and many more are in the works in order to cater to this market, which is composed mainly of retirees and expats from Canada, Europe, the US, Taiwan, China, Japan and South Korea.
Subic Bay has been tagged as one of 14 ideal areas for retirees to relocate to in the Philippines. This means that Subic Bay developers have the potential to secure a sizable portion of the $40-billion projected revenue the country may generate by 2015, if the Philippines is transformed into the retirement capital of Southeast Asia, which are the mid-to long-term plans of the Philippine government and as analyzed and projected by the Philippine Retirement Agency.
Here are recent developments in the area:
Clark, Subic highway
The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), utilizing loans from the Japan Bank for international cooperation, has completed construction of a key transportation link named the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (also known as SCTEx). This superhighway directly interconnects Subic Bay and Clark, and further extends to the Central Techno Park in Tarlac to the north of Clark.
With the completion of this thoroughfare, Clark, Subic and their nearby provinces are quickly becoming important participants in the government’s Global Gateways Development Program initiative.
This program aims to transform the Philippines into a globally competitive country. As a result, the Central Luzon region is projected to eventually become even more economically viable than Metro Manila, the nation’s capital, in several years.
The new Subic port
A port-development project, valued at $215 million, is now finished and includes many new facilities. The successful construction of the new cubi point-based container port is among the most important. Also included in this enormous infrastructure build-out is the upgrade and repair of existing wharves and the purchase of heavy equipment and facilities, such as four huge goose-neck quay-gantry cranes that can each accommodate an amazing 40.6 tons per load. These cranes increase the handling capacity of containers within the port sixfold.
Sports and recreational and tourist activities
Subic Bay is a sport enthusiast’s paradise, with various sports and recreational facilities—that include parks, bowling alleys, swimming pools, horse-back-riding stables and a newly remodeled 18-hole golf course, along with an incredible sports and fitness complex that includes a gymnasium, running track, and tennis and badminton courts—ran by the SBMA authority.
For those who wish to work out at a quality gym facility after a tough day at the office, there is a Slimmer’s World International facility available.
For those yachtsmen and women, there is an exclusive private yacht club with elegant facilities, including restaurants, bars, spa, sauna, Jacuzzi, tennis Court, workout gym and more.
If you appreciate the well-preserved environment of Subic, various eco-activities have been provided—these include hiking the Apalin trail; camping and demonstrations by indigenous Aeta tribesmen of their culture; visiting the dormant and recently active Mount Pinatubo; a journey through the nearby Zambales mountain range and a fun-filled and experiential tour of the Jungle Environment Survival Training (JEST) Camp.
If the JEST Camp doesn’t raise your adrenaline levels enough, Subic Bay Freeport Zone also has different theme parks that will get you going. There’s the Subic Extreme Adventure Park, which offers tension traversing, high-ladder climbing, canopy sliding and high-pole jumping. Another popular offering at the zone is the Zoobic Safari, where you can have close encounters with tigers and visit the serpent and reptile den, flamingo pond, boar pen and ostrich pen.
You’ll also find a fun-filled aquarium and the Ocean Adventure Park within the Subic free-port area. Here, not only can you view dolphin, sea lion and whale shows, but you will also experience close encounters, swimming and even training programs with these marvelous sea mammals.