The conversion of the base to a freeport/industrial zone has basically been pretty successful. There are more people working there than there were at the peak of the Navy's presence, and the economic dislocation that people were predicting after the pullout has not materialized. There are problems, of course - in this country there are always problems - but they are not insurmountable, and overall it's a pretty congenial place. FedEx and Acer still make up the bulk of the economic activity, and they haven't attracted any new investors on that scale, but there is a good sprinkling of smaller ones. The Asian crisis reduced investment from Taiwan, Korea, and Japan a good deal, time will tell if that will resume. The port is in good shape and could be a tremendous asset, but to use it effectively they will have to build a new road linking Subic to Manila. That is supposed to happen soon, wirth World Bank assistance; we'll see if it happens.
Estrada threw Gordon out as administrator of the freeport; I'm not a big Estrada fan, but I wasn't sorry to see Gordon go. He did a good job getting things started, but his management style was too autocratic, interventionist, and personal to be effective at day-to-day management. He's still pretty much in charge outside the base; his wife is mayor and his brother is Congressman. He's rumoured to be considering a Senate bid, though if the move to impeach Estrada is successful he may end up back in charge of SBMA, which in my view would be unfortunate. As always, we'll see. Always plenty of uncertainties around here. |
