Rid SBMA of corruption, free port exec tells fellow officials

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT— Wilma Eisma, the newly appointed administrator of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), on Monday directed all officials of the agency to turn down favors offered by investors as she pushed to make it corruption-free.

“Stop dining with locators for free. All meetings should be done in SBMA offices and let’s serve tap water,” she told fellow officials during the flag-raising ceremony here.

Eisma, a lawyer, formally assumed her post, accepting the SBMA flag from her predecessor, Roberto Garcia.

Saying her leadership would be marked by “efficient and reasonable use of resources,” she asked SBMA officials and employees to protect the agency’s image from unethical practices.

“I know this is a small thing, especially for locators. But professionalism and accountability should be the norm. We should have strong work ethic,” she said.

Eisma, who serves as SBMA’s seventh administrator and chief executive officer, also announced that she would streamline business processing in this free port.

She attributed corruption to bureaucratic red tape that, she said, “destroys the integrity of SBMA.”

She asked Stefani Saño, SBMA senior deputy administrator for business and investment, to heed President Duterte’s directive and issue all permits and documents required by investors within three days.

“If we delay the release of a document, the conclusion is that somebody is still waiting or somebody is still asking [for something]. I’m not saying it’s happening but why would you allow other people to think that of you, especially if you’re not doing anything [wrong],” she said.

Garcia agreed, saying, “red tape is something that we really should eliminate because this turns off investors.”

Eisma was appointed by Mr. Duterte on Dec. 21. She took her oath as SBMA administrator before Mr. Duterte in Malacañang on Jan. 9, along with new SBMA board members Benny Antiporda, Maria Cecilia Bobadilla Bitare, Tomas Lahom III and Saño.

Born and raised in Olongapo City, Eisma has over 23 years of experience in the legal profession in both government service and the private sector.

Before her appointment, she was the sustainability and contributions manager of Philip Morris and Fortune Tobacco Corp., the Philippine affiliate of Philip Morris International.

Eisma started her career as executive assistant to the chairman and member of the legal department of SBMA from 1993 to 1998. She represented SBMA in local courts and oversaw its housing department.

Eisma was also a member of the team that negotiated the assistance offered by the World Bank to SBMA, as well as the entry and investment of Federal Express and other international and local investors.