The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Daryl Rose Virtudazo
Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) General Manager Juan Sta. Ana is resigning from his post effective end of this month.
His resignation was submitted last week to President Aquino through Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya.
It was reported that Sta. Ana has been considering returning to the private sector but decided to hold on to his post for a few more months to finish the PPA’s pending organization plan and placement of employees and finish his international commitments.
In his letter of resignation, Sta. Ana said “it is with a heavy heart that I have decided to return to the private sector”.
Sta. Ana was elected chairman of Asean Ports Authorities Association for two years and he completed his term last November 3, 2015 in a turn-over ceremony held in Brunei, handing the chairmanship over to Malaysia. The Philippine Ports Authority’s international commitment of hosting the Apec Ports Services Network (APSN), where he serves as council member, was successfully completed last November 13, 2015 in Cebu City.
In the last five years, Sta. Ana focused on good governance issues, among others, implication of business processes in ports to make it easy for the public to transact business and transparency in corporate governance. He also pushed for port modernization in various gateway projects, port efficiency and productivity in the handling of cargoes and connectivity.
Under his watch, the Governance Commission for Government Owned or Controlled Corporation (GCG) elevated PPA status to First Class government corporation (Classification A) based on COA-Audited Financial Statements for CYs 2012, 2013 and 2014. Based on 2014 Commission on Audit (COA) Report on PPA’s financial statements, its assets are valued at P114.53 billion and its audited revenues for the years 2012, 2013 and 2014 enormously increased to P10.4 billion, P11.7 billion and P13.2 billion, respectively, noting very significant and commendable increases in the last five years.
In addition to being PPA CEO, he is vice chairman of the PPA Board of Directors and chairman of the PPA Executive Board.
“With all these commitments almost done, I think I could already go and return to the private life.” Sta. Ana said.
Before joining PPA in 2010, Sta. Ana was senior vice president of FF Cruz & Co., Inc., one of the largest construction companies in the country, and played a key role in several subsidiaries of that company.
The appointment of Sta. Ana on July 13. 2010, was one of the earliest made by President Aquino, who assumed the presidency on July 1, 2015. Sta. Ana was PPA general manager for five years and five months.
“Our infrastructure spending leaped to P29 billion for September, exceeding by fifty percent what has been disbursed in the same period last year,” said Abad.
Abad added: “Infrastructure spending growth is 57.6 percent year-on-year in Q3, amounting to P93 billion compared to P59 billion in the same period in 2014.”
The strong infrastructure spending was driven by releases for aircraft acquisition of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Modernization Program and infrastructure programs of the departments of Education (DepEd) and Tourism (DOT) implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), such as the Basic Educational Facilities (BEF) and the construction, repair and rehabilitation of roads and bridges in tourist destinations.