Marcos names former Antique mayor as new SBMA head

Ex-Pandan Mayor Jonathan Dioso Tan, who took his oath of office before Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Wednesday, will replace former SBMA head Rolen Paulino who tendered his courtesy resignation in April. Photo from Jonathan D. Tan Facebook page

PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has appointed a former mayor from Antique as the new chairman and administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authorityy (SBMA).

Ex-Pandan Mayor Jonathan Dioso Tan, who took his oath of office before Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Wednesday, will replace former SBMA head Rolen Paulino who tendered his courtesy resignation in April.

To recall, Paulino quit his post to give Marcos a free hand in choosing who will manage the free port, a known commercial, industrial and tourism hub.

Under Republic Act 7227, otherwise known as the Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992, Tan will have a fixed term of six years.

Tan, who served as Pandan town mayor from 2010 to 2019, was cited as one of the Philippines' Most Outstanding Mayors in 2012.

He also served as president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) Antique Chapter and served as public relations officer LMP National from 2013-2016.

Tan was also a secretary of the Northwest Panay Biodiversity and Conversation Council.

One of his major accomplishments was making Pandan a recipient of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, an anti-poverty project of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Tan's initiative to source out funds from senators paved the way for more development projects in the municipality.

His trademark, JDT, aside from it as an abbreviation of his name, stands for “Jobs, Development and Tourism.”

Tan managed to enhance the tourism industry in Pandan as the town was included in the 77 Tourism Development areas identified by the Department of Tourism.

SBMA, according to its website, is the operating and implementing arm of the government for the development of the 670-square kilometer area of Subic Bay Freeport (SBF) “into a self-sustaining tourism, industrial, commercial, financial, and investment center to generate employment opportunities.”

This SBF is a former US Naval facility in Subic Bay.