SBMA eyes Grande Island lease, not DND takeover

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) is advocating for a lease agreement rather than a takeover of a portion of the Grande Island by the Department of National Defense (DND).

During a press conference held at the Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center (SBECC) last Monday, SBMA chairman and administrator Eduardo Jose L. Aliño said that the agency has opposed the plans of making a portion of the Grande Island into a military reservation under the DND.

“We have already told President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. why we are opposing plans for DND to take over Grande Island. There are stakeholders of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone there,” he said.

The statement was made when plans came into light that the DND is planning to make the rest and recreational area of the former US Naval Base into a military reservation to augment the country’s defense.

Senior Deputy Administrator for Support Services Atty. Ramon Agregado said that the SBMA has already sent a letter to President Marcos, citing that it basically disagrees to the plans of the national government to take away a portion of the Subic Bay Freeport territory, and to have it managed by the DND.

“After that letter, several communications have actually taken place. In fairness to the DND, they have listened to our concerns. I think, sabi nga ni Chairman, we all have the same objective. It’s just how to implement the objective,” Agregado said.

“Of course, security is a concern of the entire government, including SBMA. So we are very supportive to address this concerns, we just have to iron out the means, the details, because obviously we have stakeholders to protect. We have locators to protect as well,” he added.

The official cited that they are opposing the DND’s plan to remove not just Grande Island, but other area of the Freeport as well, which will exclusively be used by the armed forces.

“What we are advocating is that we can achieve the same objective through a commercial agreement,” he said, citing that it can be a memorandum of agreement, lease agreement, “so they can occupy and fulfill their defense responsibilities, at the same time, the area remains under the SBMA and remain a Freeport zone.”

Republic Act 7227 or The Bases Conversion and Development Act Of 1992, which created the SBMA and SBFZ, is an act accelerating the conversion of military reservations into other productive uses, creating the bases conversion and development authority for this purpose, providing funds therefor and for other purposes.

Agregado said that the purpose of the SBMA is to convert this former military base into a Freeport, “So mahirap naman po na Freeport na tayo eh babalik pa tayo as a military base.”

“We want to maintain SBMA’s authority over Grande Island to protect not just the commercial interest but the environmental interest as well,” he said.