Subic Sun

08/05/2026

IT'S THE SUPER SUNDAY SALE AT SM STORE THIS MAY 10

Promo Highlights:
🏷️ Up to 50% OFF on selected items
💸 ₱300 OFF with a minimum ₱3,000 single-receipt spend
🌀 Jisulife Life 10S for only ₱799, with ₱2,000 minimum single-receipt spend
💳 0% interest Buy Now, Pay Later for up to 3 months on participating credit cards, with a minimum ₱5,000 single-receipt spend
🎟️ 10% OFF voucher for next purchase
May 10 only T&Cs apply: smstore.com/maysupersundaysale Celebrate Mother's Day at SM Store Olongapo Central and Olongapo Downtown, Your Every Day Store.

08/05/2026

Aboitiz Renewables, Aboitiz Foundation train Benguet mothers for remote AI work

BENGUET, PHILIPPINES — In many highland communities, mothers begin their day before sunrise—preparing meals, caring for children, and keeping households running. For years, building a career often meant leaving home behind.

Aboitiz Renewables, Inc., the renewable energy arm of Aboitiz Power Corporation (AboitizPower), together with Aboitiz Foundation and social impact startup Connected Women, is helping change that through the Elevate AIDA (Artificial Intelligence Data Annotation) program.

In partnership with the Provincial Government of Benguet, the initiative trained 62 women in AI data annotation work that can be done entirely from home, giving mothers and caregivers access to flexible digital livelihood opportunities.

The Benguet rollout follows the program’s successful implementation in Bukidnon, where participants—known as “Super Nanays”—showed that women can balance family life while building careers in the digital economy.

Among the graduates is Novelyn Simon, a mother of three from Itogon, who now supervises a remote team for a US-based company from her home in Benguet.

“I no longer have to choose between being a provider and being a mom,” Novelyn shared. “I can earn for my children and still be present for the moments that matter.”

For Nadhyne Krystal Salda, who is expecting her third child, the program became a reminder that motherhood and professional growth can go together.

“Elevate AIDA showed me that I can still grow professionally while raising my family,” she said.

Another graduate, Melody Velasco, now works remotely as a Support Operative for a UK-based firm.

“I never imagined I could work for a global company from Benguet,” Melody said. “The program gave me the skills and confidence to pursue opportunities I once thought were out of reach.”

The 62 graduates are now part of Connected Women’s growing workforce network, which aims to expand digital job opportunities for women across the country.

"We provide the platform, but the drive comes from the mothers who will do anything for their family's future," said Noreen Vicencio, Vice President and General Manager for Hydro Operations at Aboitiz Renewables. "Programs like Elevate AIDA show us what becomes possible when women are given the right tools and the right opportunity. That is exactly why we continue to bring programs like this to more communities.”

By joining the Connected Women workforce pool, these 62 graduates are now part of a bigger mission to bring digital opportunities to 300,000 women across the Philippines. It is a movement that proves a mother's place isn't just in the home or in the office—it can beautifully be in both at the same time. # # #

Photo captions
Benguet“Super Nanays" Novelyn Simon (left) and Nadhyne Krystal Salda (right) are redefining the modern provider. As Elevate AIDA graduates, they now compete in the global AI market from their own living rooms—ensuring no mother in the Cordilleras has to choose between a career and her family.

About AboitizPower
Aboitiz Power Corporation (AboitizPower) is the holding company for the Aboitiz Group’s investments in power generation, distribution, and retail electricity services. Guided by its vision and higher purpose, the company actively contributes toward uplifting the lives of the Filipino people and achieving a better world.

The company is one of the largest power producers in the Philippines, with a balanced portfolio of assets located across the country. It is a major producer of renewable energy, with several hydroelectric, geothermal, and solar power generation facilities. It also has thermal power plants in its generation portfolio to support the country’s baseload and peak energy demands.

AboitizPower also owns distribution utilities that operate in high-growth areas in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, including the country’s second and third-largest private utilities.

In step with the country’s ambitions for its energy mix, AboitizPower aims to grow its portfolio of generation assets with renewables and selected baseload builds. The Company seeks to increase its renewables group’s assets (collectively called Cleanergy) significantly by 2030 from indigenous energy sources such as solar, hydro, geothermal, and wind. To date, AboitizPower, together with its partners, offers the largest renewable energy portfolio in the Philippines based on installed capacity under its operational control.

About Aboitiz Renewables
Aboitiz Renewables, Inc. (ARI) is the holding company for Aboitiz Power Corporation’s (AboitizPower) renewable energy portfolio. We are at the forefront of driving the Philippines& #39; clean energy transition, tasked with developing and managing various renewable energy projects. Our mission is to significantly expand AboitizPower’s renewable energy capacity, contributing to a more sustainable and secure energy future for the nation.(30)

06/05/2026

SBMA CHIEF UNVEILS OPENING OF MAZU, FREEPORT’S NEWEST JAPANESE RESTO

By Percy Roxas and Julie Sionzon

Subic Bay Freeport -- Engr. Eduardo Aliño, chairman and administrator of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), led the ribbon-cutting ceremonies yesterday at Mazu Japanese Restaurant, the newest Japanese eatery to open at this premier freeport.

The restaurant, situated in a rainforest just outside The Range Shooting Range at Corregidor Road (Main Road-Naval Mag) in the Freeport, opened May 5, 2026 both as an F&B complement to the shooting range services, and also as a stand-alone restaurant.

Mazu is an intimate restaurant expected to delight Japanese and Asian food lovers.

It primarily aims to provide guests and clients at the shooting range a place to relax and enjoy sumptuous Japanese-Asian comfort food and drinks during breaks from shooting practices, but is also open for the general public.

Mazu’s ribbon-cutting and blessing ceremony was graced by several distinguished Freeport stakeholders and locators, as well as dignitaries such as Councilor Jamiel Khonghun-Escalona of Olongapo City.

“I look forward to Mazu attracting more guests to this area,” said Lito Panlilio, who owns both the restaurant and The Range. “Our location is one of the most underrated in the Freeport. But that’s what makes it worth exploring.

“Not too many people are aware yet that we have places like The Range and Mazu waiting for them here at the Freeport. With a bit more help in marketing and promotion from the SBMA’s Tourism Department, I think these businesses, this area, will get a big boost indeed!”

Mazu Japanese-Asian Restaurant
Corregidor Road (Main Road-Naval Mag)
Subic Bay Freeport Zone
Opening Hours: 10am-7pm

06/05/2026

WOMAN SAVED FROM DROWNING BY TOURIST POLICE

By Percy Roxas

Subic Bay Freeport – A 20-year-old woman who jumped into the waters along Waterfront Road on May 4, 2026 was saved from drowning, thanks to the quick response of The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) tourist police.

The woman, apparently drunk, according to a report by SBMA Law Enforcement Department (LED). The report said she jumped into the waters in front of Bldg. 244 along Waterfront Road, a popular area frequented by tourists and ideal for leisurely evening strolls.

Mobile Patrol-Traffic Branch responded and arrived at the scene, conducted crowd control, while the SBMA LED immediately dispatched the Harbor Patrol personnel who rescued the woman. They found her afloat and unconscious.

The SBMA Public Health and Safety Department dispatched Medic-4 who administered first aid. LED personnel said she became hysterical upon regaining consciousness.

The woman, whose name is being withheld for privacy reasons, was then brought to the James L. Gordon Memorial Hospital for further medical evaluation and treatment. (30)

PHOTO CAPTION:
SBMA) tourist police officer patrolling near Bldg. 244 pulls out from the waters a 20-year-old woman by the wrist to save her from drowning. Photo by SBMA Media Production

05/05/2026

https://www.smsupermalls.com/whats-new/lifestyle/plan-a-mother-s-day-she-ll-love-with-food-deals-buffets-and-more-at-sm-supermalls?

Looking for Mother’s Day ideas? Read on and find out how you can Take it all the way at SM Supermalls with food feasts, pickleball, and bonding moments that feel bigger and bolder.

02/05/2026

SM JOB FAIR EMPOWERS JOBSEEKERS THIS LABOR DAY

In honor of the 124th Labor day, SM City Olongapo Central, in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) hosted a Labor Day Job Fair, aimed at providing immediate employment opportunities to residents of Olongapo, Zambales and nearby provinces.

More than 2000 job vacancies from different industries were hiring, bringing together 36 employers with 20 hired on the spot—a powerful reflection of how accessible, community-based platforms can deliver real employment outcomes.

Across multiple SM malls, thousands of Filipinos walked in carrying resumes—and walked out with something more: real opportunities, renewed confidence, and for many, a fresh start. The SM Job Fair once again served as a platform for employment, connecting jobseekers, employers, and government partners in one convenient, community-centered space.

SM Supermalls is not just about bringing people together—it’s about helping them move forward.

01/05/2026

Cayetano pushes full-picture approach in Blue Ribbon flood control probe

Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday questioned the attention being given to the partial report of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on the flood control probe, stressing that the inquiry should remain focused on establishing the full truth rather than a single portion of the findings.

“Sa tingin ko, we're making a mountain out of a molehill doon sa partial [report]. May opportunity tayo na ayusin ang ugat, hindi lang one-time, big-time,” Cayetano said in a media interview on April 28 during an ocular inspection of infrastructure projects in the City of Taguig under the partnership of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the city government.

Cayetano made the statement after a draft or partial committee report on the flood control probe, circulated among senators in February by committee chair Panfilo Lacson, remains unsigned and incomplete as the investigation continues.

Cayetano said the current discussion risks narrowing the scope of the investigation, with several aspects remaining unresolved.

“Ito lang ang tanong ko: why so much fuss about the partial [report] when we have the opportunity to have the whole and bigger picture?” he added.

He noted that some senators have already reviewed the report but are not in agreement with certain portions, underscoring the need for continued deliberation.

“In fact, marami sa amin ang nakabasa na and we don’t agree with the report. Hindi sa ayaw naming pumirma, we [just] have a lot of disagreements there… That’s the beauty of having 24 senators – everyone can question,” he said.

Cayetano emphasized that the Blue Ribbon inquiry is still ongoing, with more stages expected as additional testimonies and evidence are examined.

“Ako personally, hindi pa tapos. Iniimbestigahan mo pa lang, marami pang yugto, marami pang nabubuksan,” he said.

The Minority Leader also raised concern over how the issue is being framed, noting that early narratives may not reflect the full complexity of the investigation.

“Ang unang naging problema is we didn’t start with the truth. ‘Di ba, from the start, sinasabi natin na hindi lahat ‘yan ghost [projects, pero] pinalabas na lahat ghost para mas maraming magalit. Ngayon, ina-admit nila na hindi naman pala lahat ghost,” he said.

Cayetano said conflicting accounts and shifting statements further highlight the need for a thorough and complete process, warning that focusing on limited findings may lead to incomplete conclusions.

He further stressed that the objective of the inquiry is to establish the full picture of the issue, not just isolated portions of the report.

“Systemic yung corruption. Hindi ito isolated,” he said. # # #

29/04/2026

LABOR DAY JOB FAIR

Looking for your next opportunity? It might be closer than you think.
This Labor Day, SM Job Fair at SM CITY OLONGAPO CENTRAL is bringing together jobs, skills, and opportunities—all in one place.

Meet employers face-to-face Get hired on the spot Complete your requirements in one visit
Plus, access to skills and readiness support—helping you stay job-ready! And as you go through your job search, enjoy a more comfortable experience inside SM—with places to dine, rest, and recharge throughout the day.

SM CITY OLONGAPO CENTRAL, Ground Level May 1, 11AM in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment and Public Employment Service Office.

Bring your resume and valid IDs—we’ll take it from there.
Jobs + Skills for a Better Future—all for you.