OLONGAPO CITY — SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma urged the youth of Olongapo City to rise above their own limitations and make things happen right here in their community.

Speaking during the 120^th Independence Day flag-raising ceremony at the SM Mall here, Chairman Eisma reached out to the predominantly youth audience and retold the story of how the Subic Bay Freeport Zone came to be after the termination of the RP-US Bases Treaty in 1991 and the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in June 1992.

“We bore the brunt of the Pinatubo eruption. And with the closure of the US Naval Base, there seems to be no hope, no dreams,” she recalled.

“But that did not stop the Olongapeños, who had the opportunity to define who they really are. We protected and preserved Subic, so that we can prosper,” she added.

The defining moment, Eisma said, ingrained a lesson among Olongapo residents. Previously dependent on the US Naval Base for their living, they now realized they had only themselves to take care of each other. This fired up “malasakit”among them, and the Subic Bay Freeport, as it is today, was born.

The SBMA official stressed that the same value should guide the youth in their duty to their country. “Nobody is going to love our country except us,” she noted.

“True independence is being dependent on yourself,” Chairman Eisma concluded. “It is seeking your future and putting it in your own hands.”

The Independence Day ceremony was organized by SM Mall Olongapo City with the support of the local chapters of the Boy Scout and the Junior Chamber International.

 

TOP PHOTO: SBMA Chairman Wilma T. Eisma addresses the youth during the commemoration of the 120^th Philippine Independence Day in Olongapo City