Subic freeport designated crew change hub

The Department of Transportation (DoTr) and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) are planning to designate the freeport zone as a crew change hub for seafarers.

Zambales Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. supports the plan but wants to make sure that “solid protocols” will be implemented for the safety of the local communities during the arrival and quarantine process of the returning overseas workers.

The governor initiated a dialogue with the DoTr and SBMA on Tuesday to apprise the local government units (LGU) of the province of the plans, addressing the concerns of their areas, especially in the establishments that will be used as quarantine facilities.

“The health and safety of locals cannot be compromised. This is our first and last requirement,” Ebdane said in the forum that was also attended by mayors and representatives of the towns of Subic, Castillejos, San Antonio and San Marcelino in Zambales.

SBMA chair and administrator Wilma Eisma said eight hotels in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone agreed to accept returning overseas Filipino workers (OFW) and expatriates but stated the need to involve LGU since most of the workers are from adjacent communities.

Eisma and Ebdane agreed there is a pressing need to cover all bases, from the moment seafarers and other returning OFW arrive in Subic until their departure after quarantine. They said there should be specific measures in cases when returning seafarers will test positive for the coronavirus disease 2019.

The health and safety of locals cannot be compromised. This is our first and last requirement.

Castillejos Mayor Eleanor Dominguez also urged the DoTr to provide a list of all workers from Zambales to be assigned in the crew-change facilities so that proper monitoring can be made.

Ebdane likewise raised the possibility of housing the workers in the freeport as an added safety measure.

DoTr Undersecretary Raul del Rosario said the crew change hub is an inter-agency undertaking that also includes the Departments of Health, Labor and Local Government, Bureau of Immigration and other government agencies.

The project will facilitate the arrival and departure of passengers in all airports, seaports, and land transportation hubs in the country in accordance with the guidelines set by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases.