MANILA -- A Traffic Management Group (TMG) policeman implicated in the massacre of Viva Hot Babe Scarlet Garcia and three others last Thursday in Olongapo City underwent a paraffin test.
SUBIC BAY Free Port: Officials of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and local government units around the Free Port have agreed to work closer to pursue opportunities and development of this economic zone.
This was the result of a meeting after President Gloria Arroyo issued Executive Order No. 675 effectively expanding the area where tax and duty-free privileges in the Free Port zone would apply.
Arreza met last week with Bataan Gov. Enrique Garcia, Olongapo Mayor James Gordon Jr., Olongapo Vice-Mayor Cynthia Cajudo, Castillejos Mayor Wilma Billman, and San Marcelino Mayor Joker Rodriguez during a program honoring Subic’s LGU stakeholders.
“It’s a short, but very productive meeting,” described Arreza, who briefed the officials on the $1.45-billion investment commitments generated by the agency in the last nine months.
“We all saw that the best course for us is to coordinate and cooperate for the common good,” explained Arreza, referring to his recent meeting with LGU officials from Olongapo City, Bataan and Zambales.
“We acknowledged both the challenges and opportunities that EO 675 brings us, and we concluded that we should synergize, lest we all stagnate—which is, of course, not a valid option as far as everyone is concerned,” he added.
He further elaborated that it would be easier for SBMA to bring out investment and employment opportunities from the Free Port to the nearby communities now that the President has issued EO 675.
The executive order, signed by President Arroyo on November 5, amended EO 97-A, which provides that the tax- and duty-free incentives under Republic Act 7227 were limited to businesses and residents within the secured area of the Subic Special Economic and Free Port Zone.
Arreza said the expansion of coverage would benefit the nearby communities more as they could catch business spillover from Subic Free Port, which has a limited area for expansion.
Under EO 675, the SBMA, as manager of the Subic Free Port, was given the authority to identify, fence, and secure additional “secured areas” where tax- and duty-free perks may be allowed.
In the meeting both SBMA and the affected LGUs, would identify the areas to be developed early next year.
In the same meeting, the local government officials expressed their satisfaction over SBMA’s economic performance in the past 15 years, and recalled how Subic transformed itself from a US Naval Station till 1992 into one of the most if not the most successful free port in the country today.
“If it seemed the end of the world for many when the Philippine Senate did not ratify the RP-US military agreement, many could see today that those fears were really unfounded,” said Gov. Enrique Garcia of Bataan.
To this concern, Arreza said the development plan for additional secured areas would consider all possible impacts to the community, including residents and the environment.
“We are also preparing a plan for the construction of access roads going to some tourist and investment sites in Zambales, so that more opportunities would open up in the countryside,” Arreza said.
He added that the development plan would involve the construction of new power plants inside the Free Port zone to bring down power rates, attract more business locators, and further stimulate the local economy. www.manilatimes.net
UBIC BAY Free port: Two leading health providers in the country are eyeing Subic Bay Freeport as a prime location for medical tourism.
The plan according to MedTECs Corp. and Total-MED is to convert the existing four story building of MedTECs located at the Subic Bay Industrial Park commercial center into a medical tourism facility which is ideal for medical offices, a nursing school and assisted living facility.
TotalMED president and CEO Dr. Raymond Ricardo disclosed this proposal at the 20th meeting of the Philippine-Chinese & Chinese-Philippine Business Councils at the Formosa Hall of the Subic Bay Industrial Park over the weekend.
“We see Subic as the next medical tourism destination in Asia in the next few years, its all [Subic] here, the location is great, the ambiance is good and the facilities are incredible,” Ricardo said.
MedTECs initially invested P6 million in their its building although the plan to convert the building into a Medical Tourism facility is still in its initial drawings. both MedTECs and TotalMED said they are encouraging prospective investors to the said project.
In his presentation, MedTECs and TotalMED estimated around 5,000 retired US military veterans and their dependents, 100,000 employees and dependents of locators in Clark and Subic, not to mention one-fourth of those residing north of Manila, among others would avail of medical services.
“These are only local potential markets.” Dr. Ricardo said.
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Administrator Armand Arreza for his part welcomed the plan and sees medical tourism in Subic as a big opportunity, he explained that medical tourism has a growth rate of 20 to 30 percent per annum and believes that Subic Free Port is the prime spot in the near future for medical tourism.
“We encourage high value activities and move away from low cost manufacturing model and medical tourism is one of the area and were the Philippines and Taiwan can work very closely collaborate with,” Arreza said.
Medical tourism is one of the area that is being encouraged by the Philippine government right now and in 2006 it is estimated that the total revenue generated by medical tourism in Asia amounted to $2.5 billion and is expected to grow to $4.5 billion in 2012.
“Tourist are attracted to this because of world-class health care service at third-world prices that is why the Philippines has become an attractive destination,” Arreza said.
Chinese automaker Geely Group Co. Ltd. on Tuesday said it plans to put up an assembly plant in the Subic Freeport Zone, for the production of its affordable Geely cars line.
The company, through its local unit Geely Cars Philippines said 2,000 units of its hatchback and sedan models will be shipped through Subic, for dealers and customers in Metro Manila, Pampanga, Bulacan and Pangasinan.
The cars are priced at P387,000 for the 1.1-liter MR hatchback, and P489,999 for the 1.3-liter CK sedan—will be brought to the Subic distribution hub tax-paid, just like the car fimports of mainstream distributors.
The firm plans to eventually open 12 dealerships in the country by next year.
Apart from this, it is also planning a separate assembly plant in Subic for its semi-knock down units to take advantage of the incentives being offered by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).
Geely cars, which are manufactured by the China-based Geely Group Co. Ltd., are being positioned in the Philippines for the B, C and D income brackets, which comprise 75 percent of the firm’s market. ABS-CBN website.
SUBIC, Philippines -- South Korea's Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Corp. officially opened part of a $1.6-billion shipyard in the northern Philippine port of Subic Bay, officials said Thursday.
