One can usually guess when an American warship or a submarine is docking in this free port by the number of souvenir vendors along Alava Pier and the Subic boardwalk. These vendors troop to the areas where American servicemen given liberty (a euphemism for rest and recreation) are most likely to pass by on their way to restaurants, hotels and shopping malls in the free port and Olongapo City. Lolita Solana, a souvenir vendor of woodcraft items since the 1980s, when the United State was still using this economic zone as its naval base, said Subic is a popular spot for vendors because of the increasing presence of Americans here. She said she and her fellow vendors chase the “moving base” of Americans all over the country. “We go where the ships are, erecting tents to sell our wares in Manila, Palawan, Cebu or Cotabato and just about everywhere there is Balikatan (military) exercises,” Solana said.... This month, at least five US ships arrived in the free port: the USS Bonhomme Richard, USS Tortuga, USS Richard Byrd, USS Amelia Earhart and the USS Denver. These ships, which carried equipment and personnel used in the recently concluded 10-day military exercises between the Philippines and the US, are leaving today.
SOUVENIR vendors
sell their wares near the docked ships of the United States Navy at Alava pier
in the Subic Bay Freeport zone. Robert Ianne Gonzaga/INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.