A coalition of residents, tourism investors, Aetas, local government units and civil society groups in Subic Bay Freeport (SBF), Olongapo City, and the provinces of Zambales and Bataan looked forward to seeing the revised alignment of the China-funded Subic-Clark Railway Project (SCRP) linking two free ports that the Philippine government converted from two former US military bases. Save Subic Bay Mangroves Coalition (SSBMC) anticipated a new design, as it thanked Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade for ordering the builder of the 71-kilometer freight railway to build the logistic terminal of SCRP away from 42 hectares of mangroves in SBF. “We [hope] this would be the case when proponents present to free port stakeholders a revised plan in the next public hearings,” Jen Velarmino-Van der Heijde, SSBMC spokesperson, said in a statement on Sunday.

Orejas, T. (2021, July 6). Group hails move to save Subic mangroves, awaits revised railway alignment. Philippine Daily Inquirer, p. B4.