Former SBMA chief cites volunteers

The man who made Subic leap out from the blueprint has cited Filipino volunteers as "agents of change" in Olongapo City and the Freeport.

Richard Gordon, founding chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), said in a speech before the World Bank (WB)-sponsored 2nd World Cities Congress in Washington DC that without the volunteers, the former US naval base would not have become a major economic hub in just three years.

"It is an honor to make people part of the process of change so that they are stakeholders in government instead of being merely governed," he said. "The key lies in re-inventing government to enable and ennoble the people."

The former SBMA chief also pointed out that volunteerism enabled the city of Olongapo to become a "model city," instead of the "sin city" that it was when the Americans were still in Subic.

Gordon, who was invited by WB president James Wolfenson to speak at the congress plenary on "Change Management in the Philippines," said the key to the SBMA success was the partnership with people and the private sectors.

Without volunteers, he said, the Subic Freeport miracle would not have taken place.

Subic today boasts of investments reaching $27 billion from 320 investors, domestic and foreign.

Gordon innovated with volunteerism while still mayor of Olongapo in 1980. His initiatives in color-coded traffic management, peace and order, and revenue-generating garbage collection continue to enhance the reputation of Olongapo as a "scene city."