This was the statement of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) administrator Wilma Amy T. Eisma as she assured the public of their safety following the recent incident involving top officials of the Subic Bay Marine Exploratorium Inc. (SBMEI).
“The incident at the Ocean Adventure is an isolated case,” Eisma said. “Subic Bay Freeport is not Ocean Adventure only.”
“I already endorsed to the [SBMA] Board that we have to file an action with the courts, possibly, an interpleader to ask the court to resolve this because we cannot let the freeport suffer,” Eisma said.
The SBMA administrator also condemned the opposing parties’ use of undue force in resolving their intra-corporate dispute, saying the actions taken by both were clearly not in accordance with proper and lawful procedures that are strictly being enforced in the freeport.
She said that it is sad that the image of the Subic Bay Freeport is being dragged down because it paints a bad picture of what Subic Bay Freeport is very well-known for – a safe tourist destination.
“Our concern here is for the good of the many. This is bigger than all of us. This is not about Ocean Adventure. This is about Subic Bay Freeport as a whole,” she said, with an assurance that commitment to peace and order is still the top priority in the Freeport.
An official statement from the SBMEI said that on February 13 this year, then SBMEI president and chief executive officer Arthur Tai was ousted by Scott Sharpe as “majority shareholders of the SBMEI have chosen (Scott) Sharpe, one of the founding owners, to become Chairman and President of the company as part of a change in top management.”
The same SBMEI statement said that Arthur Tai was removed from his post due to “breach of trust and loss of confidence.”
In the late afternoon on April 3, a group of employees supportive of Tai came back to oust Sharpe causing damage to properties and potential harm to animals at the ocean park.
The April 3 fray was diffused with the help of SBMA officials and the agency’s Law Enforcement Department along with the Philippine National Police, ending the standoff before midnight.
Meanwhile, Robert Gonzaga, SBMEI corporate communications director, said that at the park and the resort it is “business as usual” and that normalcy has been restored in the area.
