Government to set up training facility in Subic Bay

MANILA, Philippines - The government vowed to help Filipinos get a piece of the 20,000 new jobs opening in Guam by setting up a training facility in Subic Bay.

The United States will be building a military facility in Guam once it closes its bases in Japan.

“This project costs $15 billion, and 20,000 foreign workers are needed. We must not let this opportunity slip from our hands,” Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman Feliciano Salonga said. 

“A Philippine representation will ensure that Filipino workers will get a first shot at this massive employment opportunity in Guam,” he added.

The SBMA official said that through the Philippine representation, technical and legal requirements for the training center and various labor concerns, including the mass deployment of Filipino workers, will be addressed.

He added that the Philippine panel will also help ensure that the training center will adhere to standards set for the Guam project. 

Guam senators met with SBMA officials recently. Senators Judith Guthertz and Rory Respicio, who led the Guam delegation here, inspected the various skills-training facilities in this free port and urged the SBMA to form a Philippine delegation to Guam to expedite the setting up of the Subic Bay training center.

Guthertz, who chairs the Guam Committee on US Military Buildup and cites her University of the Philippines (UP) education, urged the to-be-formed Philippine representation to work out training designs with Guam’s community college.

She also expressed much confidence in the skill of Filipino workers, “who built Guam after the brutal World War II.”

Guthertz added that the “sudden change” in Guam compelled them to look up the history of Subic Bay, which underwent similar transformation as it was a former US naval base.

Meanwhile, Respicio, who heads the Guam Committee on Foreign Affairs, said the Philippines “will likely be the source of labor for the Guam buildup,” and ruled out competition from Chinese labor.

“You have the facilities here; the Philippines is poised to grab this opportunity, so you have to be prepared,” said Respicio.