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Rolen Paulino has resigned as chairman and administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority effective April 15
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Paulino tendered his courtesy resignation to give President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. a free hand to choose the head of SBMA
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Malacañang has yet to announce Paulino’s replacement
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman and administrator Rolen Paulino tendered his courtesy resignation effective April 15.
In a statement on the chairman and administrator’s Facebook page, Paulino said he resigned to give President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. a free hand in choosing “who he deems best to steer the SBMA/Subic Bay Freeport Zone to greater heights in terms of management and new business opportunities.”
Malacañang has yet to announce Paulino’s replacement.
Paulino, who was formerly Olongapo City mayor, took over SBMA on March 1, 2022 after Wilma Eisma stepped down as chair and administrator.
Despite having a fixed term of six years as provided in Republic Act 7227 or the Bases Conversion Development Act, Paulino said he will “adhere to instructions from the Office of the President as an obedient soldier and dedicated public servant.”
He added: “I trust the good judgement of the President as he knows better.”
He thanked the men and women of SBMA whom he said supported him during his “challenging yet fulfilling journey” as head of the agency.
Paulino, in his last state of the Freeport address on March 28, described 2022 as a “banner year” for SBMA.
He said: “2022 was a banner year for the SBMA despite the challenges during the past year. All revenue collections of the Trade Facilitation and Compliance Department, Business and Investment Departments, Seaport, Airport, Labor and Tourism Departments have increased compared to 2021 figures. And even surpassed pre-pandemic performance.”
Paulino reported that from these revenues, the SBMA has turned over P1.33-billion worth of dividends to the National Treasury in 2022. He added that this is higher by 20.21% to 2021’s P1.11-billion worth of dividends.
