By HENRY EMPEÑO  | Subic Bay Freeport

THE Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) further suspended the collection of penalties and other fees from Subic Bay Freeport (SBF) business locators and residents to help them recover from economic difficulties spawned by the Covid-19 pandemic.

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the Subic agency has extended until June 30 the suspension of payment for penalties on late payment of billings, fees on deferment of deposit for maturing post-dated checks, and due dates covering payment schemes with deed of undertaking.

The SBMA initially suspended the same payments from March to end of May following the imposition of the Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) beginning March 16.

Eisma pointed out that the SBMA now gave due consideration to Subic stakeholders because it has ordered the majority of Subic locators to stop day-to-day operations and the residents to stay at home during the ECQ.

“Given the status that we are right now where some companies are still closed or operating on scaled-down capacity, we find it necessary to further assist our locators and residents by suspending the collection of these fees until June 30,” she added.

Prior to this, the SBMA board of directors approved the suspension of penalties and other fees as economic relief assistance to companies and other payers in support of RA 11469, or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.

These were contained in Certification No. 20-087, which suspended the imposition of penalty on late payment of billings from March to May 2020; Certification No. 20-088, which suspended fees on deferment of deposit of the maturing post-dated checks of locators and residents with written request for deferment from March to May 2020; and Certification No. 20-089, which extended from March to May 2020 the due dates covering payment scheme agreements with deed of undertaking.

Eisma said the measures were ratified by the SBMA board by way of referendum and that the same resolutions authorized the SBMA chairman and administrator to extend said measures for another 30 days, as needed.

“Taking note that the SBF further complied with the extension of the ECQ from April 16 to May 15, the modified ECQ from May 16 to 31, and the general community quarantine (GCQ) from June 1 to 15, local businesses really deserve some boost for them to recover,” she added.

Along with the suspension of business penalties, the SBMA also extended the validity of expired IDs and access passes for SBF workers until June 30 and allowed the renewal until July 31 of vehicle decals with one-year validity that were issued last year.

These extensions were also deemed necessary as the SBMA expected more companies to reopen in the coming weeks, as more establishments comply with minimum safety protocols specified under government guidelines

As of last week, close to a thousand companies were already operational in the Subic Bay Freeport under GCQ rules.

According to guidelines from the Inter-Agency Task Force on Covid-19, some companies here were allowed to reopen at either 100% operational capacity; 50% up to full operational capacity; or 50% work-on-site arrangements, work-from-home, and other alternative work arrangement.

However, Subic Freeport companies involved in leisure-related businesses were not yet allowed to operate under GCQ.