A bright and prosperous 2009 to everybody!

Well, that is at least what I hope and wish for every company and organization, employer and employee alike, in and around the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. The Subic Freeport has been one of the most dynamic places for business in the Philippines and Southeast Asia but with the global financial crisis, the influx of new investors would most likely be reduced. One reason is because banks will try to improve liquidity and will try to limit credit availability; therefore, many companies, old and new, local and foreign, looking to raise capital, would be hard-pressed to get one. We can expect the availability of new jobs in the Freeport to be much less than it would have been, had not the crisis happened.

The initial effects would be felt more quickly in credit-driven sectors but will certainly spread beyond it. We will also generally see some slowing down in hiring from existing companies simply because more companies, local and foreign, will be competing for less available work. Since the Philippine wage level is higher than many other Asian countries (India, Bangladesh, China, Vietnam, etc.), we can expect lower volume of work coming in to the Philippines.

Other effects include consumers buying less. Less demand will mean lesser supply needed and, needless to say, fewer workers needed to produce the reduced market requirements. The International Labor Organization estimates that there would be an increase in unemployment by about 20 million men and women; a percentage of this would undoubtedly be from the Philippines.

But despite the expected general downturn of the economy in 2009, the Subic Bay Freeport will still be in a relatively strong position, at least compared to other areas. The recent 28 new investments in the Freeport would help in counteracting the slump and possible layoffs from some existing companies.

By and large, the 2009 economic outlook in the Subic Bay Freeport is certainly not gloomy but still bright, perhaps not as bright as previously forecasted, but still good enough to propel it forward and drive it to greater heights.

---x-x-x-O-x-x-x---

I am Prof. Danny Piano, President of the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce for 2009. I hope to be able to continue the good work that former president John Corcoran did for the Chamber. Having worked with him since 2006, he is a tough act to follow, I can tell you. Fortunately for me and the rest of us, he decided to still be part of the Chamber Board of Directors even when he is very busy with his company. Together with the rest of the Board: Atty. Omy Duran as Vice-President, the angel-hearted Ms. Rose Baldeo as Corporate Secretary, Dante Pollescas as Treasurer, and Tom De Bruin and Jerry Hammond, along with the indefatigable Executive Director Susan Dudley and our Admin staff - we hope and we will try our best to serve you better!

There will be some changes in how the Chamber conducts business this year, two of which includes:

1. The creation of seven standing committees: the Business Development Committee, Labor & Workforce Development Committee, Membership Committee, Security & Safety Committee, Environment Committee, Events & Ambassador Committee, and Government Affairs Committee. The chairmanship and preliminary description for these committees can be found in the SBFCC website. For members interested to join and willing to volunteer time and effort to these committees, please contact the Chamber office.
2. A change in SBFCC-SBMA liaison procedures. Instead of the usual monthly liaison meetings with SBMA, Chamber committee chairs or proxies will now be joining SBMA committees so that possible issues on matters concerning the business community can be discussed right then and there instead of after the fact. This arrangement was already approved by SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza after a series of discussions with him.

We do have a number of events already lined up and is being finalized including socially responsible programs like the annual Blood Drive. The recent Up With People event was a huge success that the organizers, because of the overwhelming support and outpouring they received, even plan on doing it again here at Subic. Loads of donations from that event were already given out and distributed to the less fortunate around us.

---x-x-x-O-x-x-x---

Although the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce is here to help you and the community, the Chamber, as a matter of forthrightness, also needs help. Perhaps because of the same global financial crisis or perhaps because some of our members do not find enough value in the service we provide or were not aware of the things we do, our membership has somewhat dwindled during the past year.

I would like to take this opportunity, therefore, to call on all our members
to recruit one - JUST ONE - non-member buddy of yours to join us!

On the Chamber's part, we will try to do more and will make sure that you know what we are doing for you. I admit that in some cases, we do things for and on behalf of the community, but never get to tell you about it - like a father who stands against an issue in defense of his family but takes it all in by himself. Just recently, the Chamber submitted two strongly-worded position papers against the 1) Bureau of Immigration's "Survey" of Foreign Nationals in the Freeport, and the 2) Department of Labor and Employment's (DOLE) Inspection Blitz of SBF companies. We will now be posting all our position papers on our website.

We hope that with your help, 2009 will also be a bright and prosperous year for your Chamber!