PPA: 46 YEARS OF PROMOTING NATION-BUILDING THROUGH INTEGRIT
Continued from C1 the Philippine Ports Authority, under the guidance of the Secretary of the Department of Transportation Arthur P. Tugade, wasted no time and quickly buckled down to work to make sure that the presence of the agency can be felt most especially by the communities whose livelihood depend heavily on its ports.
Thus, the Bayanihan sa Pantalan was born. Waves upon waves of relief operations were conducted in partnership with the private sector and other civic organizations to help those who are in need like porters, dockworkers, as well as the immediate neighboring communities to help them withstand the global pandemic.
PPA employees also continued to help by sharing a portion of their salaries to help our countrymen who are most in need.
PPA General Manager Jay Daniel R. Santiago said that, in the midst of this pandemic, the agency and its people once again showed their unity and resiliency by working together towards finding ways to provide public service beyond the usual day-today performance of their duties and responsibilities.
“It is really overwhelming that the PPA, across all its offices, has moved forward as one unit, contributing to the efforts of the Government as it copes with the challenges that the country is facing due to the pandemic, not to mention the other challenges and emergencies that the country has faced since the start of the year,” GM Santiago emphasized.
“The ‘Bayanihan sa Pantalan’ initiative of the PPA community with the help of other government agencies and civic organizations has provided relief goods and cash assistance to a total of 5,762 porters, dockworkers, PPA outsourced personnel and other persons in need with an overall estimated amount of P2,298,443.83 all over the 25 PPA PMOS,” GM Santiago said.
Not only that, PPA made a big splash in helping the country ease the effect of the Coronavirus pandemic to the day-to-day lives of Filipinos by paying in advance its 2019 dividend remittance amounting to P5 billion to help the government finance its ANTI-COVID-19 measures. It is the biggest dividend remitted by PPA in its 46 years of existence that enabled the PPA to land a spot in the Top 20 Philippine Corporations released by the Department of Finance.
Likewise, using the P100-million funding from the Lopez Group of Companies, the Ppa—through the guidance of the Department of Transportation headed by Secretary Arthur P. Tugade and in partnership with the Philippine Coast Guard, the Maritime Industry Authority and the Department of Health, with other government agencies, the 2GO Group and Asian Terminals, Inc.—retrofitted the Eva Macapagal Super Terminal inside the South Harbor into a state-of the art, 211-bed capacity Bayanihan to Heal As One COVID-19 Quarantine Center to help ease the demand for such quarantine facilities due to the increasing number of infections in the NCR and its nearby cities, provinces and municipalities. The PPA likewise procured a Stage 3
Ambulance to further prop-up the capability of the Quarantine Center using the fund donation from the Lopez Group of Companies.
In partnership also with the management of the Manila International Container Terminal and the Manila South Harbor, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Finance and the Bureau of Customs, a Joint Administrative Order was issued to successfully address the looming congestion at the Ports of Manila brought about by the non-withdrawal of cargoes due to COVID-19.
To further assist port stakeholders, the PPA extended the payment of concession and rental fees by 30 days for all payments falling under the period of community quarantine and likewise extended the Holdover Authority and permits issued by the agency during the quarantine period up to 31 July 2020.
Taking the lead from the Interagency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) and the Joint Task Force COVID Shield, PPA issued a memo easing up the movement of cargoes to and from the ports to address the demands of the international and local supply chains particularly essential supplies amid the pandemic.
The PPA also continues to help and support other government programs specifically the Balik-probinsya Program of the Office of the President, the repatriation of locally stranded individuals, returning overseas Filipinos, seafarers and students. To date, more than 20,000 repatriates were handled and processed in different
aligned with ATI’S dynamic Corporate Sustainability Program, which lists Education and Youth Empowerment as core priorities. This project will be a big help in enhancing the digital knowledge of the youth, eventually developing It-savvy talent/workforce in the future.
“Like port operations, studying and acquiring new knowledge should remain unhindered despite the current health crisis,” said Ian Baking,
ATI assistant vice president for Business Development, noting that the project will provide a safe online learning environment and help both teachers and students adjust to distance learning under the so-called “new normal.”
“Project is also a proactive intervention to bridge the digital divide, especially in the underprivileged and underserved sectors of Philippine society,” adds Baking.