Senator Drilon halted the presentation not to present all 400+ as he want all those with impact to big regions only. Well I cannot understand with that statement, aren't all port impacting materially the regions on a greater scale? or he just want to stop the humiliation in asking No port developments to the DOTr.
From the Business Mirror report:
The Filipino people have benefitted from the efforts of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) to achieve seamless maritime transport interconnectivity.
This was the assessment made by Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade in a speech he gave during the PPA’s 47th Founding Anniversary celebration at the PPA Corporate Building.
“The Philippines is an archipelago. If there is one thing that PPA should be doing is that they should address the archipelagic nature of our country. This is why a lot of infrastructure was constructed so that there will be connectivity among the islands, mobility of the people, and eventually public convenience,” he said.
In his speech, Tugade related that he had asked himself more than four years ago if PPA would be able to achieve their very ambitious goals.
“Today, I strongly feel that I will be able to answer those questions that I asked myself,” he said. “As we celebrate your 47th anniversary, I can truly say that you were able to achieve all your goals and I am very proud of what you have achieved.”
Completed projects
To date, the PPA has completed 420 port projects while some 100 other projects are scheduled to be completed in the next few years.
One of PPA’s “milestone and iconic projects” is the completion in the development of the country’s biggest passenger terminal building (PTB) at the Port of Cagayan de Oro. It can now accommodate 3,000 passengers at any given time of the day. This is three times more the number of passengers it could handle before.
Presently in the works are two more passenger terminal buildings—one in the Port of Calapan in Oriental Mindoro and one in the Port of Zamboanga. When completed, the Calapan Port PTB will be able to handle little over 3,000 passengers at one time, while the Zamboanga Port PTB will be able to handle 4,000 passengers at a time.
“Don’t you all think that this is such a big achievement? This is a dream come true and because of what you have done, we are able to face the Filipino with much confidence, confident enough for us to say that you are able to meet all your goals,” Tugade said.
In addition to the PTB at the Port of Cagayan De Oro, the PPA has completed 27 port projects, some of which are scheduled to be inaugurated within the year. A total of 36 port projects are still ongoing. Of the total number, 15 of them are in Luzon, 12 in Visayas and nine in Mindanao.
The completed projects in Luzon include TMO Pasig, Pasig River; Ports of Bulalacao and Bansud in Oriental Mindoro; Port of Carmen in San Agustin, Romblon; and Abra de Ilog in Occidental Mindoro.
In the Visayas, there are seven finished improvements, two of which are in the Port of Ormoc and one each at Port of Estancia, Iloilo; Port of Dumaguete, Dumaguete City; and Ports of Tagbilaran, Tapal and Ubay in Bohol.
In Mindanao, the completed port projects are the Port of Timaco, Cotabato City; Port of Liloy, Lamao, Zamboanga del Norte; Port of Babak, Samal; Port of Iligan, Iligan City; Port of Benoni in Camiguin; and Cantilan Port in Cantilan, Surigao del Sur.
In the first five months of 2021, the PPA had already completed seven big-ticket port projects worth about P1 billion. These include the Port of Salomague in Cabugao, Ilocos Sur; Port of Talaga in Mabini, Batangas; the Ports of Legazpi and Tabaco in Bicol; Port of Baybay in Leyte; the Port of Mati in Davao Oriental and the Port of Sindangan in Zamboanga del Norte.
Sound financial acumen
Tugade also noted the PPA’s “sound financial acumen and management” and record-breaking dividend remittance to support the completion of various infrastructure projects under the Build, Build, Build Program of the Duterte administration and at the same time aiding the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the course of four years, from 2016 to 2020, the PPA turned-over P17.39 billion in dividends, just P3 billion short of its total remittance from 1986-2015, which is P20.8 billion. The PPA in 2020 also remitted P1 billion for the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act.
In May 2021, PPA remitted an additional PHP221 million to the National Treasury to further help Government in its Covid-19 response. This brings the total dividend remitted to the Government for year 2020 to P3.77 billion representing 57.5 percent of the agency’s net income for 2020.
The agency also paid a total of P14.887 billion in corporate income tax from 2016 to 2020 with the recorded highest amount paid in 2018 at P5.9 billion.
Despite being adversely affected by the global health emergency, the PPA is forecasing to slowly rebound this year with growth pegged at about seven percent for cargo throughput to 246.790 million metric tons while passenger traffic is forecasted to hover around 25 to 27 million passengers or a growth percentage of about one to two percent.
Covid-19 initiatives
Sec. Tugade also pointed out other initiatives of the PPA to aid the government in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the earlier stages of the pandemic, the PPA developed quarantine facilities at the Eva Macapagal Super Terminal in Pier 15 inside the Manila South Harbor and at the Port of Capinpin in Orion, Bataan, which were recently converted as dedicated Covid-19 isolation facilities.
The PPA’s 25 Port Management offices also continue with its own initiatives to aid struggling Filipinos to have enough support to weather the current health emergency.
The agency also extended support through the provision of essential supplies to typhoon-devasted areas like Tabaco in Albay and Cagayan as well as provide help to other Filipinos affected by other calamities.
“PPA, since day one, has shown its desire to help the government achieve its dream to give Filipinos comfortable lives. PPA has outdid itself and exceeded expectations. PPA contributed the intangibles and continue to do so up to this time. I could not thank you enough for all of these. As the Secretary of Transportation, you make me proud, Tugade said.
“Every one of you is a true gift to the Filipino people. Providing integrity, honesty and unparalleled public service. Therefore, I challenge every PPA employee to continue to be a blessing to others and altogether we march towards recovery, healing and comfort,” he added.
For his part, PPA General Manager Jay Daniel R. Santiago credited Tugade’s guidnance in leading his agency to achieve its goals and aspirations.
“If it were not for the leadership of Secretary Arthur Tugade, we will not be here today to celebrate what we have achieved, more so during our 47th Founding Anniversary,” he said.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/07/14/filipinos-are-the-beneficiaries-of-ppas-projects-tugade/
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