SBMA reports P2.2B in H1 revenues

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) reported yesterday that the freeport’s revenue collections amounted to P2.2 billion for the first half of the year.

SBMA Administrator and chief executive officer Armand Arreza said that the Subic, through the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bureau of Customs (BOC) offices in the freeport, has again made its share to economic development by contributing P2.2 billion to the National Treasury.

He attributed the increase in revenue collections to the new companies which started their operations in Subic and provided employment to thousands of workers from nearby communities in the region.

Meanwhile, SBMA Chairman Feliciano G. Salonga reported that for the month of June, the SBMA Board of Directors approved a total of 21 projects with an investment amount of $324 million.

One of the projects approved is the $300- million Hebei Jingniu industrial glass production plant.

Another project approved is that of Innove Communications, Inc., a subsidiary of Globe Telecom, with a $6.3-million committed investment.

Salonga said that another grain production and processing base would provide 5,000 new job opportunities.

"When these projects are fully operational, this would make the Subic Freeport maintain its reputation as among the country’s top revenue earners and job providers in the region, a realization of the President’s vision of the Subic Freeport in her 10-point economic agenda," Salonga said.

Meanwhile, Arreza lauded Task Force Subic (TFS), the anti-smuggling unit of SBMA under Gen. Jose Calimlim (Ret.), the concurrent SBMA Deputy Administrator for Operations.

According to Arreza, "Task Force Subic has successfully paralyzed and swept smugglers operating in Subic. These smugglers, which once used the Freeport as their jump-off base, has cheated the government billions of pesos by not paying due taxes of imported motor vehicles and expensive merchandises they bring into the country."

Arreza said that since the formation of Task Force Subic and the elimination of smuggling operations, the public is assured that imported goods brought to the country through Subic are properly documented and taxed.