LAWYER Randy B. Escolango has taken his oath this morning as Undersecretary of the Dept. of Labor & Employment (DOLE) before Labor Secretary Silvestre H. Bello III.

His appointment was signed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte last February 22, 2022 to fill in the permanent vacancy created by the mandatory retirement of USec. Philip A. Paredes last February 3.

“I am deeply honored and thankful to be entrusted with a very important office in the Dept. of Labor & Employment,” Escolango told Subic Bay News, “It is another avenue where I can make myself productive in helping people feel and experience the government’s sincere care and concern for their welfare and well being.”

 He said it is but proper for the administration “to place the country’s labor sector among its top priorities, striking a fair and mutually acceptable balance of interest with the business sector.”

A Deputy Commissioner of the Insurance Commission (IC) since 2017 where he also headed the Legal Services Group, Escolango was Deputy Administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) and had a stint as Officer-in-Charge of the said Government Owned and Controlled Corp. (GOCC) before moving to the IC.

“In between, he managed to serve as a professor at the local Columban College where he first enrolled to take up AB English in 1993 before completing his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science as a Dean’s Lister from the New Era University. Earning his Master’s in Public Management in 2010, he went on to become a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Administration in 2014.”

Still not through with his appetite for education, Escolango is currently enrolled for a bachelor’s degree in Accountancy at Far Eastern University where he previously earned his Bachelor of Laws Degree in 2001, the same year he passed the Bar Examinations.

His various engagements in and out of government service was not a deterrent to USec. Escolango to serve as an officer of the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary (PCGA) where he is currently a Rear Admiral. He is also president of the New Era University Alumni Association, Inc., member of the International Bar Association, Certified Treasury Professional, Accredited Financial Analyst, Professor of Law on Insurance and other Commercial Laws, and Lecturer in Mandatory Continuing Legal Education for Lawyers (MCLE). He also writes a regular column for the national newspaper The Manila Times.

USec. Escolango, 45, is married to Michelle Cortez-Escolango, a Pharmacist and businesswoman with whom he has four children, namely, Ranchelle, Marielle, Randy Jr. and Mirand.

Among his favorite dictums, USec. Escolango always puts emphasis on kindness and helping others. “Kindness and helping others will return to you when you least expect it, and maybe when you need it,” he counsels his family, friends, and anyone else who care to listen. (VVV)

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SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — Despite some business difficulties during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of workers in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone registered a continuing growth and reached a yearend total of 142,177 last year.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said Subic’s job generation effort was buoyed by new investments and expansions in the services and manufacturing sectors, which now respectively hire 72% and 15% of the current workforce in the Freeport.

Eisma said the 3,190 Subic-registered companies that now provide various services here employ a total of 102,540 workers, while 93 manufacturing firms have a total of 21,529 employees.

On the other hand, the 237 construction companies operating in Subic employ a total of 12,225 workers, while 112 companies engaged in shipbuilding and marine-related services hire a total of 5,884 workers.

“It’s true that some of the companies here have closed or were forced to reduce their manpower complement because of the pandemic, but overall, the number of workers in Subic actually increased by 1.03% in 2020 and by 2.31% last year,” Eisma said.

“So, this means that Subic has been coping very well with the challenges posed by the current health crisis, and was finding new opportunities for businesses to survive and even prosper,” she added.

Eisma also pointed out that except for a .32% decrease in workforce count in 2009, the Subic Freeport has been riding an upward trend in job generation since 1999 when the total number of workers stood at 19,969.
“From there, our count continuously climbed to 55,875 in 2004; 88,450 in 2010; 112,653 in 2016; and finally, 142,177 in 2021,” Eisma said.

She added that even with the closure in 2019 of the Hanjin shipyard, which used to employ some 35,000 workers, Subic still registered a manpower increase of 1.37% that year.

“This was because job generation has been the top priority in Subic, as this was the reason for its being—to provide jobs, especially to those who lost theirs when the Subic Naval Base closed in 1992. And we’re proud that since then, Subic has been able to fulfill its mandate,” Eisma said.

According to SBMA Labor Department manager Melvin L. Varias, most of the workers employed in the Subic Freeport come from Olongapo City, which contributed a total of 62,201 or 43.75%, and Zambales, with 25,756 workers or 18.12% of the total.

Next is Bataan with 17,764 (12.49%); National Capital Region with 5,310 (3.73%); Pampanga, 4,388 (3.09%); Tarlac, 1,950 (1.37%); and other areas, 24,808 (17.45%).

Just last December, Varias said that a total of 2,062 workers were hired by Subic firms, mostly in the services (1,519) and manufacturing (494) sectors.

Varias said that as of December 2021, the Subic workforce is comprised of 101,113 male workers, or 71.12% of the total, and 41,064 females, or 28.88%.

He added that the biggest employers in Subic today are Datian Subic Shoes, Inc. with a total of 4,697 employees; Philippine Easepal Technology Ltd. Corp. with 2,766; EZ Set Tong Lung (Phils,) Metal Industry Co., 2,681; Sanyo Denki Phils. Inc., 1,375; and Exact Star Subic Bay Corp., 1,247 workers.