SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – Former Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Chairman Felicito C. Payumo has been appointed by Malacanang as the new chairman of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, a government agency mandated to convert former US military baselands and Metro Manila camps into productive economic growth centers.

Payumo was appointed SBMA chairman in 1998 by then President Joseph Estrada and completed his six-year term in 2004.

A member of the administration Liberal Party in Bataan province, Payumo took his oath in Malacanang, today.

Payumo studied at the Ateneo de Manila University where he completed his Bachelor of Science, Major in Economics, cum laude and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School on an S.C. Johnson Scholarship. He also finished the Executive Program for Leaders in Development at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.

He worked in the private sector for more than twenty years including Procter and Gamble Philippines, Mobil Corporation in New York and Engineering Equipment Incorporated where he served as president before entering into politics.

He was voted as one of “Top 10 Congressmen” during the 8th to the 10th Congress and was principal author of the Build, Operate, and Transfer Law, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Law, and the Act converting the military bases into special economic zones.

He served as chairman of the Committee on Public Works during the 8th Congress and chairman of the Committee on Economic Affairs during the 9th and 10th Congress.

He is married to Daisy Sison of Naga City. They have one son and four daughters and recipient of the 2003 Three Outstanding Filipinos (TOFIL) presented by the Philippine Jaycee Senate.

Subic investors belonging to the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce said his group acknowledged the decision of President Aquino to appoint Payumo as the new BCDA chief.
“The BCDA has proven to be successful in its original mandate of converting military bases into economically feasible areas. We hope that through the leadership of Mr. Payumo, it can now focus on further developments of these same areas into towering growth centers where business and job opportunities continue to abound,” SBFCC president Danny Piano said in a statement. Rey Garcia

TOURISM POLICE. Zambales Governor Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr. (left) announces the launching of Zambales Provincial Police Office (ZPPO) Tourism Police Patrol. The program was highlighted with the presentation of 15 e-Bicycle which will be used by the newly-formed Zambales Tourism Police. The bicycles will be distributed to the 13 towns of the province.(Right) S/Supt. Rafael Santiago, Jr. tries one of the e-Bicycles. (Allen M. Villa, PIA Zambales)

In its aim to boost tourism in the province, the Zambales Provincial Police Office (ZPPO), in partnership with the provincial government, has launched its “Tourism Police Patrol” project.

The launching, which was held at the provincial capitol plaza recently, was highlighted with the presentation to the public of 15 units of e-Bicycle which will be used to patrol the tourism destinations in every municipality of the province.

The environment-friendly bicycles have functions similar to motor vehicles including lights and horns. By using its pedal, it stores electricity on an attached rechargeable battery through a mini-motor (dynamo).

ZPPO Provincial Director S/Supt. Rafael Santiago, Jr. said the launching of the tourism patrol is necessary in keeping the roads safe for the people and in providing a secured and tourist-friendly destination.

Santiago also said that the patrol group went through training in tourism management to keep up with the demands of tourism promotion.

Governor Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr. hailed the provincial police force for coming up with the project and said that it is another step towards promoting the province as a safe haven for tourists, investors and all Zambaleños. (WLB/AMV/PIA Zambales)

Tourism business in Subic Freeport is growing, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) said yesterday citing visitor arrivals that reached 5.5 million with 33.48 percent cent year-on-year growth.

The SBMA said it was optimistic that visitor arrivals will be surpassed this year as the 2010 influx posted the highest visitors recorded over the past six years.

According to the SBMA tourism department, overall visitors last year surpassed the 4.1 million total arrivals in 2009.

In particular, arrivals peaked during the summer months of April, May and June with 558,779; 518,596 and 786,738 tallies, respectively. The month of December followed with a 464,525 record. The data however, did not show how many foreign tourists visited the Freeport compared to local vacationers.

The SBMA is now aiming for sustainable and quality tourism to further boost visitor arrivals in this free port.

Because of the influx of visitor, hotel occupancy in Subic registered an annual rate of 88.7 percent in 2010, a 3 percent increase over the 2009 rate.

“In addition to developing Subic as a logistics and maritime hub, we have also been pushing Subic as a tourist destination – and quite successfully at that,” SBMA administrator Armand Arreza said in a statement.

Arreza said key performance indicators last year, including visitor arrivals, showed a sustained rebound from the weak performance in the previous years, owing to the global economic crisis.

Because of the growing trend in tourism, the SBMA intends to attract more visitors this year by staging more events and encouraging tourism stakeholders to invest more, Arreza added.

Arreza attributed the influx of visitors to the diverse events staged by or hosted in cooperation with the Subic agency and its locators, as well as tourist destinations like theme parks that provide anchor attractions for the free port.

SBMA deputy administrator for business Raul Marcelo also said that the SBMA has steeped up its tourism promotion efforts in line with the government’s thrust to boost eco-tourism in the country.

“This way, we create more jobs in local communities without losing their unique culture, character, landscape and natural environment,” he added.

Marcelo said that last year, a total of 389 events staged in Subic attracted 92,749 participants.

Subic’s expansion in the tourism industry has been cited by no less than Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim, who described this premier free port as “an ideal tourism capital” and a “perfect model of sustainable and quality tourism.”

Arreza said this was because the SBMA have exerted efforts “to lead the entire Freeport community, down to the grassroots level, in adopting a culture of tourism, as well as to guarantee the protection and preservation of the environment as a community resource that supports the economy.”

Moreover, Arreza said that the business community has invested much in Subic because of its huge tourism potential. He said that last year alone, the SBMA received a total of $1.02 billion in committed investments for tourism-related projects here. Cecille Garcia

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in the region will soon be deploying some of its agents at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) in Clark Freeport Zone to give a sharper teeth to its campaign on anti-drug courier program.

Ronald Allan Ricardo, regional director of PDEA, said the drug agency is looking into providing DMIA a substantial number of the PDEA’s agents to help airport security in ensuring that no drug courier or drug mule enters or exits the country via the premiere airport.

Ricardo revealed that the plan is “in the works” and that the PDEA will is currently making the necessary coordination and ground works with DMIA officials regarding the matter.

The PDEA chief expressed delight over DMIA’s appreciative reception of the scheme.

In an interview with the PIA-Region 3, Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) President Victor Jose Luciano affirmed PDEA’s deployment of its agents to DMIA, saying that the move is a welcome development and CIAC, which is the mandated developer and operator of DMIA, fully supports it.
Ricardo said that the country may be lacking in terms of detection devices, but with intensive manning and strict inspection procedure at our airports, the PDEA expects that a decrease and eventual elimination of drug couriers will be attained.

The PDEA is also into massive information campaign in the region against drug mules, tying up with the Philippine Information Agency – Region 3, which Ricardo admitted is the most effective weapon in advocating the anti-drug courier program.

“Hopefully, thru our information campaign, our fellow Filipinos, who are engaged in this style of drug trafficking, will be awakened,” Ricardo relayed.

Ricardo revealed that there have been reports that recruitment for drug couriers is prevalent in the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga and Subic, clarifying that recruiters in these areas mostly belong to West African drug syndicates operating in the country.

Ricardo related that one style of these recruiters is that they first make potential recruits, specifically women, their intimate partners, who, in turn recruit as much as 50 drug couriers per single recruiter.

Recruiters, added Ricardo, lure potential recruits with huge amount as payment for their service as drug couriers. Price offers, he revealed, range from $2,000 and up.

Countries such as China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand are the usual places drug couriers go to conduct their business.

The drug courier problem emanates from an emerging trend in transporting illegal drugs using Filipino “drug couriers” that poses a major concern for our government. Drug mules or drug couriers are individuals who transport dangerous drugs in exchange for a huge amount of money. (William L. Beltran/PIA3)

MANILA North Tollways Corp. Tourism Educators and Movers (TEAM) Philippines, North Philippines Visitors Bureau, together with Pilipinas Shell, Department of Tourism and the Tourism Infrastructure Enterprise Zone Authority, will be having the third staging of the NLEX Outdoor Travel Fair dubbed Tara na sa Norte, on March 25 and 26 at Shell Balagtas, Bulacan (NLEX Km. 32) from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Unlike the past NLEX travel fairs, the 2011 version will be having new highlights such as increased business-to-business activities with the guaranteed attendance of top local corporate buyers, travel agents and foreign tour operators.

There will also be product presentations by participating exhibitors, as well as a familiarization tour for select groups of attendees to experience North Philippines. Hourly raffles, essay and poetry writing competitions for participating schools, a cultural-mix dance competition, rock band performances, a fashion show, celebrity guests and more await guests.

Also part of the two-day travel fair is a seminar on meetings, incentives, conventions and events (MICE) which will have key resource speakers from the hotel, fashion and travel industries. The Philippine Consular Core is also scheduled to visit the travel fair’s opening ceremony.

“NLEX has made travel to the north safer and more convenient creating an influx of local and international visitors to north Luzon. In coming up with Tara na sa Norte we’re able to make the different hotels, resorts, restaurants and other tourist destinations even more accessible to the NLEX motorist,” MNTC VP marketing Renie Ticzon said.

Early confirmations to the travel fair have been received from Philippine Airlines, Air Philippines Express, Amadeus, Boracay Regency and the Quezon City Tourism Office. Booths for exhibitors are still available and interested parties may call Afro-Asia World Events at 5237501/ 5237504 or Manila North Tollways Corp. marketing department at 4793031.

SBFCC President Danny J. Piano together with SBFCC Directors Jun Avecilla, president and CEO of Lighthouse Marina Resort, and Lewis Strickland, president of PACTEC Subic Bay awarded a Certificate of Recognition to NewsCentral. (Photo by Alex Galang)

Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce presented a Certificate of Recognition to NewsCentral in appreciation of its contribution to the business community in the field of media.

SBFCC President Danny J. Piano together with SBFCC Directors Jun Avecilla, president and CEO of Lighthouse Marina Resort, and Lewis Strickland, president of PACTEC Subic Bay awarded a Certificate of Recognition to NewsCentral, a regional business broadsheet based in Central Luzon.

Piano and SBFCC Executive Director Susan L. Dudley signed the certificate which was presented during the State of the Freeport Address held at the Subic Bay Convention and Exhibition Center.
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“This Certificate of Recognition was presented to NewsCentral in recognition of their contribution to the business community in providing information on current and future developments within the Subic-Clark economic corridor,” Piano said as he presented the certificate to NewsCentral.

Roger M. Garcia, Jr., executive editor of NewsCentral, receives the award presented by Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce.

Roger M. Garcia, Jr., executive editor of NewsCentral received the award, the Subic Chamber’s highest accolade to recognize the newspaper’s contribution to the Freeport’s business community.

“I am deeply honored to be the first recipient of the SBFCC’s formal recognition in the field of journalism to which my aspiration as publisher was reinforced by this valuable award,” Garcia said.

NewsCentral is providing a continuing coverage on focused industries and special interests in both Subic and Clark, such as investments, tourism, aviation, shipping and maritime, manufacturing, local communities and organizations, expat community, government affairs, business features, livelihood and agriculture.

The newspaper and its online edition www.newscentralsite.com serve as a major information link and news source between the localities, specifically cities and all provinces in Central Luzon region and three economic and industrial centers – Subic, Clark and Tarlac.

The SBFCC, a member of the national Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and an accredited marketer of the Philippine Retirement Authority, is an independent, nonprofit, membership-funded organization founded in 1995 to serve and represent the interests of its member businesses.

The single distinguishing characteristic that sets SBFCC apart from other Chambers of Commerce is that its members come from some 20 countries around the world.

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) reported today that it has approved a total of $1.2-billlion worth of new investments last year to boost the cumulative financial resources infused by both foreign and local firms in this premier Freeport zone to $7.16 billion.

In a statement, SBMA administrator Armand Arreza said that investments recorded last year eclipsed the total in 2009 by almost 486 percent, or a difference of more than P1 billion. In comparison, the Subic Freeport attracted investments worth only P206.5-million in 2009 due to the global economic crisis.

Arreza said that the 115 new projects, buoyed by five major investment proposals that also made it to Subic’s list of top investment projects in the last five years, made 2010 another banner year in Subic’s history.

Arreza said that since the Subic free port was established in 1992, last year was only the third time that annual investments here breached the $1-billion total. The first was in 2006 when committed investments totaled $1.44 billion, and the second was in 2007 when investments reached $1.71 billion.

The new investment projects also brought Subic’s total number of approved projects to 1,463.

Arreza also pointed out that while the agency approved a total of only 115 investment projects last year, compared to 201 project proposals in 2009, “the value of investments more than made up for the relatively smaller volume.”

Of the 115 investment projects approved by the SBMA in 2010, the biggest was that proposed by MCastle Philippines, a Korean firm that has set aside $1 billion for the development of a world-class integrated resort in Morong, Bataan.

Meanwhile, Sunnew-Subic Investments Ltd., a Chinese company, was recorded as the second biggest with $75 million for a wind farm and a solar energy project that could be expected to generate 50 megawatts and 100-200 megawatts, respectively.

The other investment projects in Subic’s top 10 list for 2010 were: Subic Bay Town Center Inc., a Filipino firm that committed $36.4 million for the development of a commercial center; Alubat Aviation Composites Philippines (German/British), with $15 million; Vapco International Corporation (Jordanian/Filipino), $15 million; Sands of Triboa Resorts (Fililipino), $5.95 million; Fertuna Holdings Corp. (Filipino), $5.35 million; Holy Land Subic Foundation, Inc. (Filipino), $5.33 million; Udenna Management and Resources Corp. (Filipino), $3.22 million; and San Bernardio Shores Beach (Filipino), with $2.21 million. Records from the SBMA also indicated that five projects approved in 2010 now ranked among the top 20 projects recorded since 2005.

These are the projects for MCastle, which ranked second biggest next to the $1.68 billion committed by Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries Corp.-Philippines; Sunnew-Subic,which ranked number 10 with $75 million; Subic Bay Town Center, at No. 14 with $36.42 million; and Alubat Aviation and Vapco International, both at No. 19 with $15 million.

SBMA figures also indicated that more than 82 percent of the 115 investment projects approved last year were foreign direct investments (FDIs) from South Korea. On the other hand, 8.14 percent of the total investments were proposed by Filipino-owned companies, and 6.26 percent by Chinese firms.

Other investments put up last year came from the United Kingdom, Germany, Jordan, Taiwan, the United States, Canada, Norway, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Sweden, Belgium, France, and Italy.

In terms of job generation, the projects approved last year have a projected total employment of 8,050, Arreza also announced. The 2010 employment figure represents an 11.77 percent increase over the projected 7,202 jobs from the 201 projects approved in 2009.

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga — Domestic air carrier South East Asian Airlines (Seair), will further expand its operations at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) with flights to Hong Kong and Macau that are expected to start February 14, 2011, and, is considering flights to Taipei.

Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC) President and CEO Victor Jose I. Luciano announced today that Seair will operate additional Clark-Hong Kong flights twice daily and Clark-Macau flights three times a week from the DMIA as part of the marketing program for the country including Clark Freeport Zone to boost the tourism industry.

The move came after the success of their twice weekly flights from the DMIA to Singapore that started in December 2010.

“We are happy to announce that Seair, will launch flights to Hong Kong and Macau at DMIA,” Luciano said.

“This is a welcome development for the airport as this will certainly redound to the benefit of travelers, tourists and Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) as well as boost the tourism industry not only in the Metro Clark area but Central Luzon and eventually, the rest of the country,” the CIAC chief pointed out.

He said the Seair will add 17 more flights a week that will average a total of 85 international flights a week aside from the flights of Federal Express and United Parcel Service (UPS) at the DMIA.

Seair is the second oldest airline in the country that started operations at DMIA in 1995. The air carrier leased two 144-seater Airbus A-319 aircraft from its partner Tiger Airways of Singapore last year for their international flights at DMIA catering to destinations in the South East Asian region. Seair currently operates daily flights to Caticlan at DMIA.

Seair is expected to add more flights from Clark to Vietnam, Korea and Thailand. Flight booking can be done via internet through their website www.seair.com as well as Tiger Airways’ website www.tigerairways.com as part of their marketing arrangements.

Carriers also operating from the DMIA include Air Asia of Malaysia with flights to Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia; Asiana Airlines and budget carrier Jin Air of South Korea both with flights to Incheon; and domestic carrier Cebu Pacific Air that flies to Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau and Bangkok with domestic flights via Cebu, Spirit of Manila Airlines that flies to Taipei.

CLARK FREEPORT – The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd. announced yesterday its expansion program to increase production capacity from 7 million to 10 million tires a year with the infusion of additional investment of 20 billion yen or about US$244 million for its first phase plan.

The announcement coincides with the signing an extension of its tenancy agreement for 300,000 square meters giving the tire company a total plant area of 460,000 square meters or 2.8 times that of its current area.

In a statement, Yokohama said it will immediately start constructing a new tire plant at the adjacent area from its present 160,000 square meters plant.
The company plans to operate the area’s first expanded portion in 2013 and makes the area fully operable in 2014.
Also planned is to increase its annual production capacity to 17 million tires by 2017 after making an investment to increase the capacity to 13 million by 2014 as the second-phase expansion, making the total amount of investment approximately 50 billion yen or about $600 million.

The statement added that the purpose of increasing production capacity is to implement business plans set in the third phase of the Grand Design 100, the company’s medium-term management plan, to be started early next year.

Most of the tires to be produced at the new plant are for the planned export to North American markets.

Established in 1996 as the manufacturing base for passenger-car tires for export markets, Yokohama is currently manufacturing tires with internal diameters from 13 to 18 inches for passenger cars and sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and most of the tires are being exported to Europe, North America and ASEAN countries.

The tires are also delivered to car manufacturers in countries in North America and Asia. As a result of previous 3-step expansions, the YTPI had difficulty increasing production within the current plant area.

At present, Yokohama Rubber is expanding the production capacities at Shinshiro-Minami Plant in Japan, Hangzhou Yokohama Tire Co., Ltd., in China, Yokohama Rubber Manufacturing (Thailand) Co., Ltd., and Yokohama Tire Corporation in the United States.

In addition, the company is working on the construction of a tire plant in Russia for its planned operation starting in the fiscal year ending March 2012. These expansion programs are expected to give the Yokohama Rubber group a total tire production capacity of 60 million tires a year by the end of the same fiscal year.

Employment at the Yokohama Clark facility now stood at 1,900 at year-end 2010. Rey Garcia

Welcome to Subic. Olongapo City Mayor James “Bong” Gordon congratulates Aviation Concepts president and CEO Terry Habeck during the opening ceremony of Aviation Concepts in Subic Freeport. Others in photo are (from left to right) Sojitz executive officer Toshihiko Kita, Subic Bay International Airport manager B/Gen. Marcelo S. Santos, AFP (Ret.), ACI managing director Anthony Decoste and Lyn Habeck.

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – Aviation Concepts (ACI), a Guam-based firm engaged in providing private jet chartering, aircraft sales and management services recently opened its newly refurbished state-of-the-art facility formerly used as aircraft hangar of Federal Express (FedEx), the largest express freight carrier in the world.

ACI President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Terry Habeck said that the 100,000 square foot facility will serve as the company’s second functional base in Asia-Pacific for its fixed based operations, also known in the private aviation industry as FBO or a service center for jets and airplanes.

Mr. Habeck said that the center will offer FBO services to transient aircraft as it will target to market the company as a low cost alternative aircraft service provider to popular locations in the region such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.

“The company emphasized its desire to allow for quick technical stops, with inexpensive fueling and minimal handling fees,” Mr. Habeck said.

Olongapo Mayor James Gordon Jr. (second from left) and wife Anne pose with Aviation Concepts Inc. president and CEO Terry Habeck (left) and ACI managing director Anthony Decoste (right) during the inauguration of the ACI hangar at the Subic Bay International Airport. Also in photo is businessman Samuel Del Rosario (2nd from right) who graced the opening ceremony.

Being the only operator in the region with a US Charter certificate, ACI has the ability to charter its managed aircraft to any destination in the world, generating offsetting revenue for owners with excess capacity.

ACI is expecting the convenience of a full service aviation facility centrally positioned in Asia to attract significant air traffic to the Subic Bay airport.

“Subic Bay is poised to become one of the busier business aviation hubs in Asia as more owners and operators seeking low cost solutions in the region,” Mr. Habeck said.

In addition to FBO services, the center will house factory trained technicians available 24/7 to accommodate the maintenance needs of most long and medium range business jets.

Because of its special economic status as a Freeport Zone, Subic Bay has the advantage of eliminating duties imposed on inbound aircraft parts.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) administrator Armand Arreza said the decision of ACI to locate its expansion project in Subic “is a welcome opportunity that will help the SBMA realize its vision of becoming a service and logistics hub in Asia.”

Arreza said the SBMA is continuously improving facilities in Subic, putting up new container terminals, road networks, bonding warehouses, and streamlining the document processing. “With more competitive shipping costs and daily ship and aircraft calls to major regional logistics hubs, Subic should become a viable regional transshipment center,” he added.

During the opening, ACI presented to media and other guests its aircraft fleet composed of private jets such as Gulfstream, Global Express and Westwind models.

ACI managing director Anthony Decoste said that apart from private jet chartering, the company will also be engaged in medical tourism as well as emergency medical flight as it will soon launched in Subic Freeport its CareJet Air Ambulance that can transport patients to any receiving medical facility worldwide.

Mr. Decoste said that CareJet vessel has on board the air ambulance industry’s highest-standard medical equipment and abundant medical supplies to ensure maximum care during patient transport.

Established in 2007 to meet the growing demand for emergency medical evacuations from remote regions across the Pacific, CareJet now provides the residents and tourists of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Micronesia, Southeast Asia, and Northern Australia with emergency access to world-class medical care.

CareJet’s mission is to be always ready to get qualified patients to a higher level of care as quickly and safely as possible with a staff of certified and credentialed physicians, nurses, paramedics, medical technicians, pilots and other trained professionals.

CareJet operates its jet aircraft with the same life support devices found in any modern-day intensive care unit, so each CareJet patient is as stabilized as possible in transit to a qualified, recommended receiving hospital.

The ceremony was graced by Olongapo City Mayor James Gordon .Jr, Japanese aviation firm Solitz’ executive officer Toshihiko Kita, representatives from US Embassy in Manila, and officials of the Subic Bay International Airport (SBIA).

It could be recalled that FedEx transferred its hub for Asia-Pacific operations from SBIA to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in China on February 7, 2009.

Subic became the regional hub of FedEx’s Asia-Pacific operations in 1995 after the closure of the US naval base in 1992. The authority collects around 150 million pesos ($3.2 million) annually from the company for landing, parking and warehousing.

About 500 workers lost their jobs after the closure of the FedEx hub. Rey Garcia