2017 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
DIVIDENDS
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 percent 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 percent of its annual net income to the National Government after it was granted fiscal autonomy during the term of President Corazon Aquino.
In the last couple of years, the PPA has been 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 and the Department of Transportation, among others.
PPA has been injecting so much effort to improve the cruise facilities of our ports particularly in 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-percent increase in the number of cruise tourism passengers suggest that we are slowly reaping the benefits of those initiatives.
NEW PPA LOGO
The PPA also unveiled its new logo in its bid to transform the agency into a more transparent, reliable and model corporate organization.
The new 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, and environmental protection, among others.
The 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 three 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 PPA is also fully-compliant with the requirements 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 four 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 percent from 5.9 percent 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) and 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 well as Incheon in South Korea. In the 2016 edition, 53 Asian ports made the list while 47 Asian ports were included in the 2015 list.