ubic[edit]

The looming withdrawal of the Americans from the U.S. naval base in Subic meant the loss of over
40,000 jobs for Filipinos who were employed in the said base. [7] Also, $8 million worth of
infrastructure left behind by the Americans in the base and was in danger of being looted from
outsiders, as evidenced by the looting that occurred in 1991 at the Clark Air Base due to the
aftermath of the Pinatubo eruption.[8]
To address the problems beforehand, Gordon led the citizens of Olongapo to mobilize and lobby for
the inclusion of a free port concept into the national legislation for the conversion of the U.S. bases.
The effort was successful, with the inclusion of the establishment of the Subic Bay Freeport
Zone (also known as the Subic Special Economic Zone) in Section 12 of Republic Act No. 7227,
otherwise known as the Bases Conversion and Development Act, which was approved on March 13,
1992. Section 13 of the same legislation also provided for the establishment of the Subic Bay
Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), which was tasked to administer the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. [9]
On April 3, 1992, Gordon was appointed as the chairman of the SBMA by P