President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has not withdrawn his nomination for Christopher Pastrana to be the general manager of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), Malacañang said on Friday.
Press Secretary Beatrix Rose Cruz-Angeles said: “There is no statement and there is no information on that one. So, it’s status quo as of the moment.”
But about an hour after the presser, the PPA released a statement saying Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista had designated Port Manager Manuel A. Boholano as officer-in-charge (OOIC) and general manager of the PPA, ABS-CBN reported.
Bautista confirmed to GMA News on Friday that Boholano was indeed designated as PPA OIC.
“Mr. Boholano shall perform and discharge the functions and responsibilities of an OIC-GM until 31 July 2022 or until a permanent GM has been appointed or designated, whichever comes first,” the PPA, in a post on Twitter, said.
“Boholano became a Port Manager in 2005 and currently designated at the Port Management Office of Eastern Leyte/Samar since 2020. He has been with PPA since 1988,” the tweet, quoted by the report, said.
Boholano has been with PPA since 1988 and he became a port manager in 2005. He is presently designated at the Port Management Office of Eastern Leyte-Samar.
Pastrana was the chairperson of the Archipelago Philippines Ferries Corporation, the operator of FastCat ferries, before his nomination to the helm of the PPA in June 2022.
Reports said Bautista met with PPA officials on July 7, but Pastrana was noticeably absent from the event.
“As we wait for the appointment of your General Manager, which will happen in the next couple of days, please make sure to further reduce shipping and travel costs nationwide and maintain the high quality of service in all ports,” Bautista told PPA officials, without mentioning Pastrana’s name, ABS-CBN reported.
Reports claimed that Pastrana’s company owed the Department of Transportation about P132 million for the unpaid amortizations of at least 2 vessels.
The head of the PPA is entitled to have a seat in the Maritime Industry Authority, which in turn has authority over the registration of vessels and the suspension or revocation of local ship operators’ licenses.
In a related development, the Department of Transportation has designated Sonia Malaluan as the officer in charge of the MARINA.
According to the maritime agency, Malaluan was appointed on July 1 and is poised to lead MARINA until July 31, or until a replacement has been appointed or designated.
Malaluan has been a part of MARINA for 32 years prior to her appointment. With Mervin Vince Lopez