Subic Bay Tourism Bureau

MASINLOC, Zambales: Eighty (80) Chinese national working in a mining firm in Masinloc Zambales, was put “on hold” by the Philippine National Police Friday.

Police Senior Superintendent Rafael Santiago, Zambales provincial Director for the Philippine National Police confirmed that 80 Chinese national was in the vicinity of Coto Mining Inc. (CMI) located in Barangay Taltal Sito Coto , Masinloc Zambales.

Santiago said that 70 out of the 80 Chinese miners were unable to present any working permit.

(A fully armed police officer stand guard with his riffle while Chinese miners gather around each other for for a head count inside Coto Mines in Masinloc, Zambales. Photo by David Bayarong)

He added that they have been receiving reports that abnormal number of Chinese National were working in the area.

Santiago said that they discovered the Chinese national during their inspection of the area after they received reports that illegal mining of chromite was being conducted.

“We will let them stay in the fenced area of the mining site until we talk to the Bureau of Immigrations, until then they will stay there, we will put them on hold.” He added.

“It is up to immigration what to do with them,” Santiago said.

Police had to restrict them knowing that they allegedly violated the law in the Philippines, Santigao further explained.

Local miners in the area said that some of the Chinese national working in the area had been working since last year.

The discovery stemmed from the order of Zambales Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr’s. order to crack down on illegal mining in the province.

The mining site, according to Santiago was being operated by a certain Companhia Minera Tubajon Incorporated (CMTI) owned by a certain Arsenia Lim.

CMTI according to Santiago was allegedly mining and exporting Chromite to China without any Ore Transport Permit (OTP) and Mineral Ore Export Permit (MOEP).

I couldn’t help to comment on the anti Wang-Wang trend. This has been the mark of PNoy’s speech during his inaugural.

I think this is the order that he did not need to write to enforce it. The day after PNoy told “Walang lamangan, walang padrino, at walang pagnanakaw. Walang wang-wang, walang counterflow, walang tong. Panahon na upang tayo ay muling magkawang-gawa.” Police and MMDA authorities in the metro manila sprung into action.

Obviously the only noticeable and doable order of the day was the “Walang wang-wang, walang counterflow.”

Many have surrendered their wangwang voluntarily, I wonder if the senators, congressmen and other officials in the government surrendered their sirens too. They should, after all it’s the president’s order and mind you officials in the government, PNoy have not been using his wangwang even if he is authorized to use it. Eh kayo pa kaya?

Wangwang is probably the line between the poor, average, the rich and the elite, the line being in the center of the average and the rich.

Kung may wangwag ka at nagagamit mo ito sa kalsada ibig sabihin ikaw ang president ng Pilipinas, senate president, speaker of the house, bumbero, pulis na may hinahabol na criminal o may pasyenteng dala sa loob ng abulansya o tagalang makapal lang ang mukha mo dahil feeling mo bigtime ka na.

Ayon sa batas ito lamang ang pwede gumamit ng wangwang, “Uniformed police and military vehicles, ambulance, fire vehicles, the President, Senate President and House Speaker,” walang naka lista na barangay patrol, barangay chairman, councilor, vice mayor, mayor o congressman.

Nasubukan ko na sumakay sa saksakyang may wangwang, the fast and the furious nga ang dating, nakakatakot at siympre medyo pogi ka pag baba mo dahil di wangwang ang sasakyan mo, pero isang beses lang yun. Note: hindi po akin yung sasakyan nakisakay lang ako, baka kasi abangan ako ng mga TMB sa olongapo, wala pong wangwang ang oto ko.

Pag may wawang kasi, VIP ka, walang violations tulad ng no parking, beating the red light, over speeding, pwede ka mag counter flow, pwede mong businahan ng malakas at matagal ang sasakyan sa harap mo (kahit pa alam mo naman na hindi siya maka abante dahil trapik), pwede ka pumasok sa one way, bawal tumawid ang tao sa pedestrian lane dahil dadaan ka (pag nakabanga ka sasabihan mo na lang na maya, babalik? Ala daddy daddy) at walang kang bayad sa toll. Sarap diba?

Privilege of the supposed few but was abused by many.

The wangwang trend has spread like wild fire in the country and in the web, in facebook “isumbong mo and wangwang dito” fan page has been the talk of the town. It has a total of 10356 fans in just a span of few days. Members flooded the page with pictures, video and other information regarding the use of wangwang, the moderator even said that they have already finish an initial report which they will send to proper authorities and to PNoy.

So what will you do if you see vehicles coming fast behind you with wangwang? You can either giveway and let those “kups” pass you by or you can give way and video or take a photo of this people and submit it to the proper authority. Pwede ka rin naman hindi tumabi kaya lang baka naman bangain ka nung mga maaaskad na bodyguard o hagad na nasa harap nung “kups” na VIP kuno.

This is PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 96 read it so you can be aware, if you have any abuse you want to report you can send it to the PNP Highway Patrol Group textline is 2920 or you can call their hotline at 02-7261261. You can also text LTO at 0918-9348707.

Oh by the way, wala din sa listahan ng pwedeng gumamit ng wangwang ang Traffic Management Bureau (TMB) I think I saw their bigbikes with wangwang and blinkers or maybe I was wrong?

Ilang beses na rin kasi ako pinatabi ng mga ito sa Rizal Avenue dahil dadaan si Mayor, pero di naman nila ako binusinahan, wala ring wangwang pero may blinkers at sabay tabi sa oto ko at dahan dahan ako pinatatabi. Ok lang naman basta smile lang kayo sa harap ng video o camera ko.

Sabi nga ng Isumbong mo ang wangwang dito, Happy wangwang hunting.

 Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. is expanding its market in Central Luzon with the planned opening of a showroom an

d service center at the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

The new Mitsubishi facil

ity is expected to be completed by December.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines and authorized Mitsubishi dealer Carworld, Inc. has agreed to develop a property along Rizal and Argonaut Highways in Subic for the showroom.

"Carworld Subic, once completed, will provide a modern showroom and service facility convenient to Bataan and Zambales residents," Mitsubishi said in a statement.

When it opens, Carworld Subic will be Mitsubishi's 43 showroom in the Philippines.

 PAMPANGA, Philippines--The ongoing expansion of the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark may prompt the conversion of the Subic Bay International Airport into a logistics and commercial area, according to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza said the agency was currently studying the possibility of permanently closing the airport and using it for otherpurposes.However, no final decision had been made on this.“We’re looking at the conversion of the airport (into a logistics and commercial area). With the developments at Clark, maintaining an airport at the Subic Freeport will not be feasible,” Arreza told reporters.He explained that for an airport the size of SBIA to at least break even, it needed to have 12-15 flights a day.“With the expansion of the Clark airport, it’s hard to imagine the Subic airport breaking even. It takes around P250 million a year to maintain the airport—P150 million for debt service and P80 million to P100 million for operational expenses,” he said.“When FedEx was still there, we were breaking even. Without FedEx, we are now losing money.”

US delivery giant Federal Express used Subic as its Asian hub for 14 years. However, it closed the Subic operations and transferred to Guangzhou, China in February last year.

About 800 direct and indirect workers lost their jobs due to the closure of FedEx in Subic.

The SBMA also lost some P150 million in annual revenue from leased airport facilities and daily aircraft landing fees.

Arreza said that even if there was no final decision yet on what to do with the airport, a number of investors had already expressed interest in how the area could be developed.

“The goal really is to eventually make Clark the country’s main airport. Subic could still be a subsidiary airport, but we’re still thinking about what to do with the airport,” he said.

The total area of Clark’s DMIA, at some 2,300 hectares, is around three times the size of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila.

Only a third of the total area is being utilized. Its two working runways, left by the United States Air Force, are long and big enough to accommodate wide-body aircraft.

The first phase of its expansion involved the construction of a P150-million passenger terminal that boosted annual capacity from 500,000 to two million passengers.

MANILA, Philippines-- Fans of meteor showers might still be able to catch the annual Quandrantid meteor shower which is active this year from January 1 to 7.According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), skywatchers can train their eyes on the northeastern skies where the meteors are expected to radiate. To be exact, the meteors’ radiant would be located south of the Big Dipper.The agency said the meteors can be seen at the rate of at least 40 meteors per hour. The Quadrantid meteor shower hits the Earth’s atmosphere at the rate of about 40 kilometers per second. The showers are said to be incinerated dust apparently derived from the debris ejected by the near-Earth asteroid 2003 EH discovered in 2003.The Quadrantids are named after the now defunct constellation Quadrant Murales where the radiant was located during its discovery in 1835. Its alternative name, the Bootids refers to the modern constellation of Bootes where the shower appears to radiate.

During the preparations for the 21st Philippine Advertising Congress (21st PAC), disaster struck the country with Tropical Storm Ondoy and Typhoon Pepeng devastated many areas in Luzon, leaving the Advertising Cogress venue, Baguio City, inaccessible for a number of days. The organizers of the Ad Congress decided to look for an alternative venue since the strain of thousands of delegates and participants going to Baguio might weaken the infrastructure leading to nation’s summer and recreation capital. A new venue, Subic, Zambales, was selected and the 21st Philippine Advertising Congress found a new purpose, to dedicate the assembly to the victims of the Luzon calamities. Part of the proceeds of the 21st PAC will be donated to the Red Cross for rehabilitation efforts in Northern Luzon.

MANILA, Philippines—No trees will be cut for any project inside the Subic Freeport, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said Thursday.In a press conference, Environment Secretary Joselito Atienza also said his agency was taking control over environmental concerns in Subic.“There will be no tree-cutting in Subic. We need environmental accountability there and we are committed to protecting the trees,” he said.Atienza said the controversies “have put into question the ability of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority to enforce environmental laws” inside the former US naval facility.In a statement, SBMA chief Armand Arreza said he respected the DENR decision to take over environmental concerns at the free port.“We also wish to reiterate that the SBMA remains committed to the protection of the environment and will seek the DENR’s reconsideration,” said Arreza.

 Source: Inquirer.net

He said the project should either be transferred to another site or should incorporate the trees.

On existing environmental compliance certificates, Atienza said the DENR will review all ECCs already issued by the SBMA.

A memorandum of agreement was signed in 2006 between the DENR and the SBMA granting powers to the SBMA to issue their own ECCs.

Last year, the South Korean-owned Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Corp., a shipbuilder, was assailed after it cut down to build one of its facilities.

In November, the Korean-owned firm that planned to build a $120-million casino hotel came under fire after its plan to cut down more than 300 trees was exposed.

The trees in both cases were part of areas in the former US naval facility considered as old-growth forests.

Trump, 2 partners to invest over $1B in Subic.

The Trump Organization signed a memorandum of agreement with two of its partners, Korean firm Heung-A Property Group (HAPG) and Westgate Resorts Asia Ltd., for the construction of an integrated leisure, sports and entertainment facility.

“Our initial foray in the Subic Freeport zone signals the extreme confidence of various highly funded multinationals with respect to both the near and long- term economic and investment prospects in the Philippines,” Seung Guk Yang, chairman of Subic Neocove Corp. said.The billion dollar investment will be built in 457 hectare beachfront facility in Subic.Also expected to be competed first are the basic accommodations like the hotels, the school and the convention center.

Source: Philfaqs

IBA, Zambales: Making good to his promise and barely a month into office, Zambales Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. has issued is first order to freeze all small scale mining operation and quarrying operation in the province.

Ebdane cancelled all 110 mining and quarry permits issued by the previous administration.

(Zambales Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. during his mining inspection in the town of San Marcelino, Zambales)

He explained that he decided to cancel all the permits to enable strict enforcement of environmental safeguards among mining and quarrying firms, as well as the proper collection of fees for the local coffers.

“Effective immediately, I am cancelling all mining and quarrying permits issued in the province of Zambales,” Ebdane said. “Our review shows that there are deficiencies, misrepresentation of facts, and obvious violations of the mining law, and we must take the hard step to make things right.”

During his inauguration in Iba last June 30, Ebdane told reporters that he will be asking for a review of all the mining permits and will come out with a decision to suspend or let it go.

The governor also formed a review committee to review the permitting process and gave them one month to come out with their recommendations.

A total of 98 small-scale mining and 12 quarrying operations had previously given the go-signal from the former administration of former governor Amor Deloso.

Chromites, magnetite or black sand, copper, talc, nickel and gold are on a few minirals being extracted in the province while armored rock and sand are among the most quarried in Zambales.

Large scale mining companies however were spared from the order since they get permits from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Ebdane meanwhile said that they will also review the operation of the large scale mining. “While they get their permits from the national office of the DENR, we can still insist that their operations should strictly conform to environmental requirements,” he added.

“We have set our sights on boosting tourism, agriculture, mining, as well as providing better opportunities in education, health and other basic services,” Ebdane said. “What I am on the lookout for are the funds and resources for the programs that we need to get going to jump-start our growth agenda.”

He added that aside from the province’s internal-revenue allotment, the mining industry would be a good source of revenue for the province.

IBA, Zambales — Former public works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. took his oath of office here Wednesday  as governor of Zambales before a huge crowd of political supporters and community officials who packed the grounds at the Iba capitol.