TIM eMagazine Vol.3 Issue 4
the Philippines particularly the Manila ports as productivity remains stable with a
combined average productivity of 23 moves an hour. In terms of yard utilization,
the average is at 60% while berth occupancy rate at the three ports is at 59%.
2017 Accomplishments
*Dividend
PPA posted a record high last year in terms of dividends remitted to the national
coffers after remitting more than P3 billion, its highest contribution to the National
coffers since 1986.
The state-owned agency’s dividend for 2017 also eclipsed by at least 30% all the
dividends it remitted to the government at least in the last decade, including its
erstwhile record of P2.158 billion remitted in 2015.
PPA is mandated to remit 50% of its annual net income to the National
Government after it was granted fiscal autonomy during the term of President
Corazon C. Aquino.
In the last couple of years, the PPA is a regular member of the ‘Billionaires Club’
of Government Owned and Controlled Corporations contributing billions of pesos
in dividends. With this all-time high dividend by PPA, it is expected to maintain its
inclusion in the elite list of GOCCs.
*Cruise Tourism
Philippine cruise ship arrivals posted unprecedented figures capped by the
simultaneous docking of cruise ships at the Manila’s South Harbor recently.
Manila South Harbor, managed and operated by Asian Terminals, Inc., registered
the biggest number of cruise ships docked at the ports with four, namely,
SuperStar Virgo of Star Cruises, Costa Atlantica of Costa Cruises, Amsterdam of
Holland America Lines, and Silver Shadow of Silversea Cruises.
The continuous hike in cruise ship arrivals are testaments to the initiatives put
into place by different government agencies like the PPA, the Department of
Tourism, the Department of Transportation, among others.
PPA has been injecting so much effort to improve the cruise facilities of our ports
particularly the areas like Puerto Princesa in Palawan, South Harbor and North
Harbor in Manila, Bohol in the Visayas, and Currimao in Northern Luzon.
The more than 1000% increase in the number of cruise tourism passengers
suggest that we are slowly reaping the benefits of those initiatives.
*New PPA Logo
The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) also unveiled its new logo in its bid to
transform the agency into a more transparent, reliable and model corporate
organization.
The new PPA logo got the nod of the Office of the President through the
National Historical Commission of the Philippines in December of 2017.
The new logo embodies the vision of the PPA, which is to provide port services
of global standards encompassing the three major islands of the country as well
as underpins the commitment of the PPA to maintain the highest standards
with vessel operators, cargo owners, port stakeholders, safety, environmental
protection, among others.
The color Pantone Opaque Couche, sharp element of the logo is the North Star,
which is a symbol not only of guidance and direction but also of stability and
leadership. It denotes the Authority’s firm stand in the achievement of its Vision
and Mission. This element also stands for the letter “P” in the PPA/Philippine Ports
Authority while creating the image of a bollard; the Sun symbolizes economic
improvement and progress of the country; the three waves stand for the waters
of the 3 island groups in the country – Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. It has always
been the government’s thrust, through the PPA, to ensure interconnectivity
between the Philippine islands through port development; the blue and red circle
within the star symbolizes the globe which depicts PPA’s Vision “to have provided
port services of global standards; the cargoes represent one of the basic functions
of the PPA which is port operations.”
*FOI Compliance
The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is also fully-compliant with the requirements
“The President’s and Sec. Arthur P. Tugade’s marching orders are to heavily invest on port
infrastructure in order to provide port services of global standards by 2020,” Santiago said.
of the Freedom of Information (FOI) reinforcing its earlier commitment to be fully
transparent to the public.
The PPA has likewise received a recognition from the Presidential
Communications Operations Office (PCOO), one of only three Government Owned
and Controlled Corporations recognized by the PCOO along with the Authority of
the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) and the National Housing Authority (NHA).
In order to be fully responsive to all requests, PPA has its FOI internal database
monitoring system and has included in the preparation of its programs the
following initiatives to provide a more efficient FOI requests’ management, which
include introduction of enhancements to its internal FOI monitoring system
compliant with the required FOI registry format; provision of an FOI kiosk to cater
to walk-in requesting parties; and PPA-wide orientation seminar to fully inform the
employees and document custodians on the Freedom of Information and the PPA
FOI Agency Manual.
*Strong international performance
The Port of Manila leaped 4 notches higher finishing at 32nd spot in the list of
the 2016 top 100 container ports worldwide and jumped one step higher to 22 in
the list of Asian ports included in the top 100 container ports, according to the list
released by the Lloyd’s List in 2017.
Manila was able to post very positive performance in 2016 due to the Philippines’
booming national economy that increased 6.8% from 5.9% a year earlier.
It also added that the higher volume handled at the Manila Port’s international
terminals, composed of the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) and the
Manila South Harbor, was due to the Terminal Appointment Booking System put
into place sometime in 2015.
The country bested other notable international ports in terms of container
volume like the ports of Felixtowe (36), Seattle/Tacoma (41), Vancouver (52), Kobe
(55), Incheon (58), Nagoya (59), Melbourne (62), London (66), among others.
In Asia, Manila was able to outperform the ports of Jawaharlal Nehru in India,
Tanjung Perak (Surabaya) in Indonesia, Kobe, Yokohama and Nagoya in Japan as