the economic life of the area, the 1990 earthquake and 1992 eruption of Mt. Pinatubo had laid waste too much of the area. About 42,000 people lost their jobs; not counting the estimated 79,000 additional jobs off base that depended on the US facility. Business slowed down. Revenues dropped from US$13.8 million in 1991 to $5.8 million in 1992, reaching a low of $2.4 million in 1993. Subic and its adjacent city, Olongapo, were at a standstill. About a third of the city's population packed up and moved to other parts of the country. Severe depression swept the area . It was in this turbulent time that the Bases Conversion Development Authority came into being by virtue of Republic Act No. 7227 signed by president Corazon Aquino on march 13 1992. The Sole Aim of the BCDA was to accelerate the development of the base conversions.Today, the former naval base has become the country's first Freeport, hosting more than 170 companies dealing in manufacturing, retail, warehousing, transshipment, recreation and tourism. Next to Philippine firms, most of the investors are from Taiwan, followed by the US and Europe. As of September 1995, investments poured into the Freeport reached $1 billion, with companies employing about 30,000 people . A number of factors account for Subic's turnaround. The Americans left good infrastructure, including one of the best airstrips in Asia. Subic also has an excellentdeep-water harbor, reliable power and communication facilities. Filipino workers in the area are skilled; they speak English and are easy to train. Clark Air Base, a sprawling 28,041-hectare prized property in the heart of central Luzon, was a major casualty of Mount Pinatubo. After the volcano erupted in 1991, a large part of the air base was covered with ash, roofs caved in and all the eye could see was a vast stretch of gleaming, silver-gray land. The disaster hastened the departure of the US forces from America's largest overseas air base. But i...
