SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Chairman/Administrator and CEO of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Martin Diño, leaves Wednesday (Nov. 2) on a major business mission to the United States to woo prospective investors and formalize a Sister Port agreement with the Port Authority of San Francisco.
While away for ten days, he designated Atty. Michael Quintos as officer-in-charge to manage the Freeport’s day-to-day operations.
Diño’s first stop is Las Vegas, Nevada where he will meet with prospective investors from November 3 to 4, topped by a visit with a solid waste management investor on the second day.
He will leave on November 6 for San Francisco after the November 5 fight between Filipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao and Jessie Vargas, who will stake his World Boxing Organization (WBO)
welterweight title in a 12-round fight at the Thomas and Mac Center.
A busy day awaits Diño in San Francisco. After paying a courtesy call on Philippine Special Trade Representative Nicanor S. Bautista at 9 in the morning, the SBMA Chairman heads to the Port Authority of San Francisco for a scheduled 90-minute meeting with its executive director, Elaine Forbes.
Diño will formalize the Sister Port Agreement between the two major ports, allowing the sharing between them of policies and best practices on port planning and building, port management and operations, supply chain logistics, port safety and security and environmental protection measures.
Diño sees the partnership as one way to boost trade between the two ports, as well as encourage business opportunities by promoting Subic’s great growth potential and its current-five year plan to turn it into Asia’s premier Freeport.
The Authority’s website lists 10 sister port agreements with different ports all over the world.
A meeting at 2 o’clock follows with Diño’s visit at Paragon Premium Outlet with Leo Padilla, director of
Golden LT Company.
Diño will travel south the following day to Los Angeles where he will meet with the manufacturer of
hybrid renewable energy ECO-GEN Energy. A visit to the power firm’s facility in Van Nuys
follows on November 9.
Before flying home, Diño will meet with members of the Filipino community in Los Angeles. –Dante M. Salvana