Subic authority says it expects 3,588 new jobs

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), which oversees the Subic Bay Freeport northwest of Manila, reported $212 million worth of fresh investments in the first half of the year, which it said could translate into 3,588 new jobs.

It said its board approved 94 new projects from January to June.

“It is also notable that about 90 percent of total investment pledges came from the top 10 biggest projects, and these include two Filipino-owned firms,” SMBA administrator Armand Arreza said.

As of end-June, cumulative investments had reached $5.7 billion, he said.

The biggest investor is South Korean resort developer and operator Subic Neocove Corp., which pledged $175 million in April for a 500-hectare resort and golf course project at Subic’s Redondo Peninsula. It accounted for around 82 percent of the total investments committed during the first half of the year, Arreza said.

Filipino-owned companies committed investments totaling $6.5 million.

Taiwanese companies committed $2.7 million, Malaysian investors $2.1 million, Pakistanis $800,000, Japanese $417,000, Norwegians $161,000, Americans $50,000, and Canadians $40,000.

Arreza said Korean-Filipino firm Hanafil Golf and Tour Inc., one of the 10 biggest new investors with a pledged investment of $3 million for operating golf, tour and recreational facilities, would employ 1,495 workers.

The SBMA said the number of workers consistently increased in the first half, from a total of 73,482 in January to 77,336 in June. The half-year total was 12.35 percent more than in the same period last year, it said.

Currently the biggest employers in Subic are KC Tech, a Korean contractor at the HHIC-Phil shipyard, with 8,830 workers; Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Corp., with 4,960; Japanese firms Nidec and Sanyo Denki, with 2,451 and 2,226, respectively; and Taiwanese computer manufacturer Wistron Infocomm Philippines, with 1,629.

The second-biggest investor is Korean construction firm Hanil E&C Subic Inc. with a commitment of $11 million for construction of medium- to high-rise commercial and residential buildings. Riza T. Olchondra and Abigail L. Ho; edited by INQUIRER.net

OLONGAPO CITY – Joint elements of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) and the Olongapo City Police arrested on Wednesday afternoon three of the five suspects in the July 26 brutal killings of three Korean nationals here last week.

Sr. Supt. Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar, CIDG regional chief, said they were able to arrest Dario Basalla, 34, of Sitio Botolan, Iram Resettlement, Barangay New Cabalan, this city; Willy Visda, 32, of Mambog, Botolan, Zambales; and Ronilo Cada, 49, of Lipaydingin, Iba town.

The arrest of the three came after they were positively identified by witnesses.

TV PATROL - ABS CBN CHANNEL 2 video of the arrest.

Eleazar said a female witness saw the five suspects scaling the fence at the back of the victims’ house on night of the killings. The witness added that she later heard the victims screaming at around midnight.

The victims were also identified by Eleazar as Suna Yoo, 32; her child Naheul Baek, 9; and Seok Hei Jang, 54, grandmother. The victims were relatives of Korean workers employed at a Hanjin plant in Subic.

Eleazar said Basalla was also arrested for illegal possession of firearms while Visda has also a warrant of arrest for estafa charges.

Cada was arrested in a follow-up operation in Barangay Mabayuhan, before dawn yesterday and was apprehended with a .38-caliber revolver in his possession. He also has a standing arrest warrant for murder.

The suspects are now facing charges of illegal possession of firearms, robbery, multiple homicide, and rape. (Mar T. Supnad - TEMPO)