SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) is welcoming plans to put up an ammunitions manufacturing facility inside this Freeport, albeit with a caveat.

This was revealed by SBMA Senior Deputy Administrator Atty. Ramon O. Agregado during a radio interview on 3 July 2025.

According to Agregado, “We are primarily an investment promotion agency, we welcome investments, but this planned investment of an ammunition facility is not a simple investment. Since it has too many issues aside from the community-based issues from the fisherfolk, and also environmental concerns.”

He said that putting up an ammunition manufacturing facility entails legal requirements, citing that ammunition manufacturing is covered by the foreign investment negative list (FINL).

He added that up to only 40 percent foreign equity is allowed in ammunition manufacturing, meaning that 60 percent of the corporation should be Filipino-owned.

“So obviously there are several issues pero trabaho ng SBMA as an investment promotions agency to make sure that the investment is proper and that it generates employment for the benefit of our countrymen,” he said.

“So mostly of the materials and equipment stored here are for those purposes only, such as transportation, communication, logistics, etc. These are the materials that the US government positioned here para po sa mga ongoing Balikatan activities,” he said.

Balikatan is an annual, large-scale military exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the United States military, focused on strengthening the alliance and enhancing interoperability. The term “Balikatan” is Tagalog for “shoulder-to-shoulder,” reflecting the collaborative nature of the exercise.

“And most of these, I want to clarify, are purely on commercial transactions so ang naghahandle nito are private companies for the US government. They have commercial contracts, so all of these are done in a commercial basis,” he added.

“In that way, the government also earns, while the SBMA generates employment for the people here for providing logistics to the US government.”

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Monday welcomed the possible establishment of a joint United States-Philippines ammunition production and storage.