Letter to Locators

Welcome! We are deeply pleased with your interest to invest here at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. Aside from tax incentives and efficient infrastructure and services, Subic Bay boasts a pristine environment where you can enjoy a high quality of life that is healthy, safe and secure. Just ten minutes away from your workplace are forests rich with colorful birds and other wildlife. You may even see monkeys, wild boars or monitor lizards along the road on your way to the office. At any time of the day, the jungle trails and beaches are inviting. But you can always settle for the silent beauty of the Subic sunset when the sun bathes the bay with its golden light before it finally gives way to the evening stars. The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority wants to keep it this way—for existing and prospective locators. We are aware that this is one factor that gives us our competitive edge.
And we endeavor to always offer the best for those who come to visit or stay in Subic Bay. But we are also aware that the gifts of Mother Nature will not always be there for the taking. If we do not exert efforts to keep the integrity of our environment, we may soon run out of fresh air to breathe, clean water to drink, and forests to trek or beaches to swim in.

The SBMA believes that development and environment protection can work hand in hand. The “environment versus development” nexus is already outdated. In fact, global business trend has long adopted sustainable development in the business perspective.
The adherence of a business to high standards of environmental management is vital—not only as it conducts business with its client, suppliers and funding agencies, but also as it seeks community prestige as an added value to the company.

It is in this regard that we have adopted the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) System within the Freeport to help prospective locators plan and design their investment according to these standards. The EIS System is a planning tool, much like a feasibility study.

This will help you make sound decisions beneficial to both your business and the environment. In line with this, we require prospective investment projects to undergo environmental study/assessment prior to securing an Environmental Compliance Certificate. This will help us appraise the impact of a business to the environment and recommend mitigating measures to minimize the adverse impacts and enhance the positive ones. The type of business and the location will determine the environmental study that we will require. Please feel free to ask your account officer for assistance on this matter, or you may directly contact the Ecology Center. We will be most glad to help you. We trust that you will be our partners in protecting our environment and our home—the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. After all, it’s the only one we’ve got.