The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) and the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce recently singed a memorandum of agreement in an effort to market Subic as a retirement heaven.
The agreement was signed last week by PRA chairman Edgar Aglipay, SBMA Chairman Feliciano Salonga, SBMA administrator Armand Arreza and SBFCC president Danny Piano.
The three parties agreed to integrate their marketing and promotional activities, including information dissemination, public relations, special events, and other retiree-related tourism programs to maximize Subic’s market reach.
“Only through strong partnerships and consolidation of individual corporate goals into one, could the retirement industry in Subic match up with those in the neighboring countries of Asia,” Aglipay said.
Aglipay reiterated that the Philippines has almost all the advantages — climate, manpower, culture and services — to outmatch other Asian nations in the retirement business, especially since Filipinos are known worldwide for being highly efficient and professional.
(Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Chairman Feliciano Salonga and Philippine Retirement AuthorityChairman Edgar Aglipay shake hands after signing an agreement to promote Subic Bay as a retirement destination. With them are (from left): Susan Dudley, of the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce, SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza, and SBFCC President Danny Piano.)
Salonga, meanwhile, noted that the agreement “was very timely, since the number of foreign retirees seeking a safer and more comfortable place to live in is increasing.”
A large number of these retirees visiting Subic Bay have settled here for a time, he added.
Arreza said that the Subic Bay Freeport already has world-class retirement facilities, including the Subic Holiday Villas, which is described as a modern leisure and retirement village that can accommodate up to 500 retirees, plus their families.
These world-class retirement communities in the Subic Bay area can accommodate retirees from Japan, Korea, Taiwan and other foreign countries, Arreza added.
