SBMA chair named concurrent administrator

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—President Benigno Aquino III has appointed Roberto Garcia, chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), as its concurrent administrator.

A source in the SBMA said the President’s November 21 letter appointing Garcia was read during a board meeting held in Quezon City on Monday.

The letter, addressed to Bases Conversion and Development Authority  Chairman Felicito Payumo, included the appointment of Joven Reyes as a member of the SBMA board. Reyes was in that meeting, the SBMA source said.

In April, Mr. Aquino appointed Garcia and Rafael Reyes as chairman and administrator of SBMA, respectively.

However, Reyes’ appointment resulted in  confusion for freeport locators as conflicting statements were made by top SBMA officials on the issue.

In May, Garcia told the Philippine Daily Inquirer that Rafael Reyes, who would have replaced Armand Arreza, had quit before he could assume office.

Garcia’s appointment as chairman and administrator marked the return to the original leadership setup at SBMA. The Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992 (Republic Act No. 7227), which created the BCDA and the SBMA, referred to the SBMA chairman and administrator as a single entity.

But the positions of SBMA chairman and administrator were split in August 2004 by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Executive Order No. 340. The EO allowed Francisco Licuanan III to serve as SBMA chairman and Alfredo Antonio as administrator.

When Licuanan and Antonio resigned in 2005, Arroyo appointed Feliciano Salonga and Arreza to replace them.

Aurelio Pineda, president of the Metro Olongapo Chamber of Commerce Inc., welcomed Garcia’s appointment. Robert Gonzaga, Inquirer Central Luzon