DoTr chief gains port stakeholders' support
TRANSPORT and logistics industry leaders have supported Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista for his entrepreneurial leadership in helping the industry navigate unique local and global challenges.
Port stakeholders issued their statement of support for Bautista, appointed chief of the Department of Transportation (DoTr) on June 30, 2022, by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The signatories were Dennis Llovido, president of the Supply Chain Management Association of the Philippines (Scmap); Fernando Juan Perez, president of the Philippine Multimodal Transport and Logistics Association Inc. (PMTLAI); Nelson Mendoza, president of the United Portusers Confederation of the Philippines Inc. (UPC); Connie Tinio, director of the Alliance of Concerned Truck Owners and Organizations (Actoo); Roger Lalu, chairman of the Alliance of Container Yard Operators of the Philippines (Acyop); Patrick Ronas, president of the Association of International Shipping Lines Inc. (AISL); Mark Matthew Parco, president of the Philippine Liner Shipping Association (PLSA); and Joselito Ilagan, president of the Philippine Ships' Agents Association (PSAA).
Bautista finds an ally in Marcos. «In just 15 months, Bautista has proved equal to the gargantuan but much-awaited task of modernizing and streamlining our country's maritime sector to advance national security and economic growth in this increasingly globalized world,» the President said.
Bautista has the vision, courage, strength, prudence and integrity to be their partner in forging a strong maritime transportation system that would ensure safety, security and environmental sustainability through the efficient use of navigable waterways and proper management of our ports, the group said.
Earlier, Bautista was implicated in allegations of corruption in the Land Transportation and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) by a so-called whistleblower, who has not offered any tangible, hard or incontrovertible proof to substantiate his claim, the group said.
«Bautista is being made a victim of trumped-up charges to derail his plans to transform the maritime industry into a highly competitive sector vis-à-vis its global counterparts. Now that this 'whistleblower'
