MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Richard Gordon on Thursday criticized Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV for making a fuss over President Rodrigo Duterte’s appointment of Wilma Eisma as both chairperson and administrator of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).
Gordon, who used to head the SBMA, said he didn’t find anything questionable or irregular in Duterte’s decision to make Eisma the sole top leader of the agency that operates the 67,000-hectare Subic Bay Freeport because he knew Eisma could handle the job very well.
“Talaga namang qualified ‘yong tao. Bakit pati ‘yon idadamay niya? ‘Wag siyang mandamay ng tao [She’s really qualified. Why would he drag her into the issue? He shouldn’t do that],” said Gordon, reacting to Trillanes’ statement that Duterte could have decided to appoint Eisma because of Gordon’s influence on the President.
Eisma, a lawyer, who finished her law degree at the Ateneo de Manila University in 1993, was born and raised in Olongapo City in Zambales, where the freeport is located.
She joined the SBMA in 1993 as executive assistant to Gordon, then chairman of the agency. Eisma was also a member of the SBMA’s legal department.
She stayed at SBMA until 1998 and represented the office in local judicial courts and also oversaw the agency’s housing department by managing its negotiations and collections.
Gordon said SBMA needed “somebody from Olongapo.”
“We need somebody who volunteered, we need somebody who came from a very high executive position in a multinational company. Bakit naman ibabaling sa ‘kin [Why would it be turned on me]? Eh ako I am proud to have her there,” he added.
Eisma worked with Philip Morris-Fortune Tobacco Corporation, Inc., the Philippine affiliate of Philip Morris International (PMI), as sustainability and contributions manager of PMFTC, chaired by business tycoon Lucio Tan.
She stayed in the company for 16 years and received the PMI President’s Award in 2005 as manager for government relations. She also earned the PMI Excellence Award in 2003, 2007, and 2011.
Gordon said that instead of making a big issue out of a non-issue, Trillanes should just focus on crafting policies that would benefit the people.
“Gumawa siya ng sarili n’yang patakaran na makakatulong siya sa tao,” he said.
