Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority

On March 13, 1992, the Philippine Congress passed Republic Act 7227, known as the Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992, in anticipation of the pullout of the US military bases in the country. Section 13 of Republic Act No. 7227 created the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) to develop and manage the Freeport which provides tax and duty-free privileges and incentives to business locators in the special economic zone.

Richard Gordon, then the mayor of the City of Olongapo, became the first SBMA chairman.

Mayor Gordon with 8,000 volunteers took over the facility to preserve and protect US$8 billion worth of property and facilities when the last U.S. Navy helicopter carrier USS Belleau Wood sailed out of Subic Bay on November 24, 1992. They started the conversion of the military base into a freeport like Hong Kong and Singapore.

On its fourth anniversary on November 24, 1996, Subic Bay hosted the leaders of 18 economies during the Fourth Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Summit. By that time, the emerging investment haven had already successfully attracted companies such as Federal Express, Enron, Coastal Petroleum (now part of Kinder Morgan), Taiwan computer giant Acer and France telecoms company Thomson SA to establish operations in the freeport.

Subic Bay Historical Center

The Authority opened a history center. It has an exhibit about hell ships, and other recoveries in Subic Bay's maritime history.