Once a showcase, is Subic Freeport’s bright star fading?

Aspiring to be like Singapore, even Japan, or Hong Kong? Start first with the roads. Landgeist, a combination of Google’s Zeitgeist, Google Mindshare, and visited countries, tracks world scores on broad spectrum like advances in modern infrastructure, ranks Singapore as having the best roads not just in Asia but in the world. Unsurprisingly, Japan and Hong Kong rank in second place garnering a score of 6.1 into the global top 10.

Roads are compelling visuals of a country, city, or locality. After the expiration of the Philippine-United States military bases agreement, the US stewards of the sprawling Subic and Clark facilities handed over to the Philippine government a well-manicured landscape and fine-graded road system (likely of US-standard). The package includes sewerage treatment facility, ensuring treated waste water does not end up in the oceans as pollutants. A network of aqueducts cuts across the adjoining hills as erosion protection. In sum, the US government passed on a masterplanned township.

Clark Freeport boasts of superb road infrastructure and is heir to a proven template it can exploit to its advantage. The spectacular review on Clark stems largely from its fine roads. Investors first navigate the streets and take their cue from how comfortably they got in and out of the place they eye to put their money into. In the case of Subic Bay Freeport, the current road conditions leave much to be desired. And it is giving bad impression.

This could not be more telling in the fair and objective assessment of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) newly installed chair and administrator, perhaps in a mix of shock and disillusionment. Where once a showcase of obedience to traffic rules and cleanliness, it may soon follow the unenviable track that gave many local government units headaches—the worsening traffic, mounting garbage, and an indifferent citizenry. A former professor unstitched the wisdom: “One cannot marvel the future without unraveling the past.” Acceptance of what is wrong is already one-half of the solution.

The Subic-Clark Alliance for Development (SCAD) was established in early 2000 to foster synergism. While acknowledging the natural diversity between Clark and Subic, the framers of SCAD yet saw a breakthrough through “coopetition” supplying what the other lacks. Clark is endowed with a landmass as far and wide as the eye can see. While Subic, with its natural deep harbor, on which the biggest ships can berth and is conducive to ship-borne and maritime trade. SCAD was established so that both can progress and neither is left behind in the quest for higher growth.

Subic was a shining example of what a transformed people are capable of achieving. “If we cannot do it in Subic, where else can we?” was the daring challenge by one of its former chair to the workers of SBMA. Where did it start to trip? Or has it somewhere relapsed into the race’s usual drag, the “ningas cogon” syndrome?

It can still bring back its vanishing luster, starting by fixing its roads.

Ted P. Peñaflor II,

tedpenaflorii@yahoo.com.ph