THIS year, the PPA is celebrating its 49th anniversary under the theme “Sa progresibong Pantalan, aasenso ang bayan,” alluding to the institution’s continuing bid for innovation. The celebrations last from July 10 to 14 to commemorate the achievements, milestones, and constant progress that has shaped the world of the PPA throughout its 49 years in the industry.
Since the 1970s, the PPA has upheld its mission of providing modern, sustainable, and resilient port infrastructures and facilities. Its recent undertaking is developing and operating ports that cater to the needs of local and global clients using best practices and state-of-the-art technologies.
The PPA’s responsibilities include offering responsive, reliable, and efficient port services while promoting a transparent, fair, and relevant regulatory framework in pursuit of a national development program. This agency also leads the charge to establish, develop, regulate, manage, and operate a rationalized national port system to support trade.
Stakeholders from across the Philippines can join the various activities the PPA planned to highlight the authority’s achievements and relevance to the Filipinos.
Looking back at PPA’s successes
Every government agency and industry in the Philippines felt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. But PPA’s 2021 Annual Report claimed that the country’s maritime transport sector remained resilient and showed remarkable recovery in the same year.
The economic growth in 2021, which posted a 5.6 percent increase in GDP from the negative 9.5 percent recorded in 2020, was ultimately the result of the government’s economic stimulus packages, reopening of the domestic markets, and gradual lifting of restrictions such as those in the supply chain of essential goods, and trade in general.
Such developments positively influenced the country’s overall trade and shipping performance during the year in review.
Driven by the favorable outcome in shipping and trade volume, PPA generated a total revenue of P17.673 billion during the year.
It also coincides with PPA’s bid to help the Philippines in “Healing As One Maritime Nation.”
Besides helping the Philippines recover from the throes of the pandemic, the PPA also had to adapt to meet the demands of the new normal. The authority’s efforts include constant improvement to ensure the efficient flow of goods in ports across the country.
In response to the present realities and to identify new opportunities, the PPA has amended and formulated policy measures and recalibrated its action plans to improve its port operations and services.
The PPA’s efforts continue today to maintain efficient operations that meet the demands of a modern world that is still reliant on ports for transportation.
A brief history of the PPA
Before the PPA, the Philippines’ port administration merged with the traditional function of revenue collection of the Bureau of Customs (BOC). The Bureau of Public Works (BPW) was responsible for port and harbor maintenance. In the early 1970s, there were already 591 national and municipal ports, plus 200 private ports scattered all over the country, demanding long-range planning and rationalization of port development.
There was an identified need to integrate and coordinate port planning, development, operations, and regulation at the national level. Around this time, the BOC proposed to the Reorganization Committee and Congress the creation of a separate government agency to integrate the functions of port operations, cargo handling, and port development and maintenance to enable the Bureau to concentrate on tax and customs duties collection.
Soon, the government and its concerned agencies realized that establishing and operating port authorities led to improved port operations. They felt similar benefits could come from a national port authority to administer and manage Philippine ports. Not long, Presidential Decree No. 505, subsequently amended by P.D. No. 875 in December 1975, created the PPA.
The latter decree expanded the PPA’s scope and functions, tasking it to facilitate the implementation of an integrated program for the planning, development, financing, operation, and maintenance of ports or port districts for the country.
In 1978, the charter was further amended by Executive Order No. 513, the salient features of which were the granting of police authority to the PPA, the creation of a National Ports Advisory Council (NPAC) to strengthen cooperation between the government and the private sector, and empowering the PPA to exact reasonable administrative fines for specific violations of its rules and regulations.
The PPA was also part of what was then the Ministry of Public Works and Highways (MPWH), which also served as the executing agency for all port construction projects. Under this setup, the PPA prepared the general plans, programs, and project priorities, while the MPWH was responsible for detailed engineering, actual construction, and supervision of port construction projects.
Later, the PPA became independent of the MPWH (now the Department of Public Works and Highways or DPWH) and attached to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) for policy and program coordination. Subsequently, under Executive Order No. 159, in 1987, the PPA is now vested with undertaking all port construction projects under its port system, relieving DPWH of this responsibility. The executive order also granted the PPA financial autonomy.
For nearly five decades, the PPA has held the fort for efficient and secure services throughout the various ports in the Philippines. As 2030 nears, the authority is also taking the necessary steps to move closer to becoming part of an integrated transport and logistics system, provide port facilities and services at par with global best practices, and have a port regulatory environment conducive to national development.