SBMA: COVID-19 swabbing center, lab keep Subic Freeport a ‘safe haven’

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) on Wednesday, June 23, announced that the swabbing center and the COVID-19 molecular laboratory here have already served 87,000 people within a year. The testing facilities were put up exactly a year ago by the SBMA and the Philippine Red Cross (PRC). SBMA operates the swabbing center and the PRC running the molecular laboratory where samples are tested. Sen. Richard Gordon, the PRC chair and chief executive officer, led the virtual anniversary celebration. Wilma Eisma, SBMA chair and administrator, said the two facilities play a vital role in the fight against COVID-19 while keeping the economy of the free port afloat. “These facilities gave Subic an advantage,” Eisma said in a statement. She added: “These helped us establish that Subic was a safe haven—a virtual bubble where people can continue to do business with all the necessary health safety protocols and facilities in place.” According to Eisma, some production, importation and exportation projects continue to grow since last year, owing to the free port being “a relatively safe venue for economic activities. PRC Secretary-General Liza Zaballa, who visited the facilities on Wednesday, said the frontliners “are really heroes in this pandemic.”