Subic Bay Freeport—The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has extended the suspension of rent and other payments due since the start of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in March.
The extension will give business locators in this free port a longer period to recover from the effects of the lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19, according to the SBMA.
SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said the relief came through a resolution passed by the SBMA board of directors on June 30, which stretched the grace period for the collection of all due accounts until October 28, or a total of 119 days.
Eisma said the extended suspension period covered billings due from March to September 2020 for lease rentals, common use services area fees, port charges, garbage collection fees, sublease shares, and gross revenue shares.
Those who will benefit from the grace period include business locators leasing lands, buildings and other infrastructure from the SBMA, and residents paying lease on a monthly basis.
Eisma said this was actually the third extension on bills payment that the SBMA granted since the ECQ in March.
The new SBMA measure took off from a memorandum circular issued by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which gave a minimum 30-day grace period for the cumulative amount of residential and commercial rents that fell due during the quarantine.
“But to better assist the businesses here in Subic, the SBMA opted for a longer time when payments could be deferred to give the local businesses enough time to recover,” Eisma said Tuesday.
“There is really a need to cushion the impact of the lockdown and provide economic relief to Subic stakeholders in support of RA [Republic Act] 11469, or the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.”
Under the approved measure, the SBMA management also allowed amortized payments of all the unpaid billings from March to September 2020 in six monthly installments, or from October 2020 to March 2021.
Eisma said said billings will not earn any interest or penalty until March next year if the installment is completed.
However, regular policy on credit and collection would apply to billings issued prior to the March ECQ, although interest and other charges are waived for such billings for the period July 1 to October 27, 2020.
Interests and other penalties will also be applied to installments that were not paid on time, and all unpaid bills by the end of the October 27 grace period will start earning interests, charges, and penalties the following day, Eisma said.
She added that while sub-lessees are not covered by the suspension because only sub-lessors have contracts with the SBMA, the latter are encouraged to extend the same benefit to their tenants.
According to SBMA Deputy Administrator for Finance Dea Sanqui, those who want to avail of the six-month installment scheme would have to apply by filling out a pro-forma promissory letter addressed to the SBMA chairman and administrator not later than September 30.
Companies availing of the installment scheme should attach a Secretary’s Certificate authorizing the signatory of the promissory note. Application forms may be obtained by sending an e-mail to accounting@sbma.com, treasury@sbma.com, or oda.finance@sbma.com or from the account offices assigned to companies registered in the Subic Bay Freeport.
Sanqui said the SBMA Treasury Department will compute and determine the schedule of the six monthly installments and will notify the applicants before payment date.