15 FEBRUARY 2024, MANILA — The recent Performance Target Conference (PTC) conducted by the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) marked a strategic milestone as Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), led by General Manager Jay Santiago, engaged in collaborative discussions with GCG Chairperson, Atty. Marius Corpus to solidify the agency's performance targets for the year 2024.
Attending alongside GM Santiago were key PPA executives: Atty. Mark Jon Palomar, manager of the Commercial Services Department; Ms. Angelina Llose, manager of the Corporate Planning Department; and Ms. Victoria Gorre, acting manager of the Human Resource Management Department. This happened on February 14, 2024.
Under Republic Act No. 10149 (GOCC Governance Act of 2011), the GCG plays a pivotal role in institutionalizing performance evaluation system (PES) to ensure accountability and responsiveness within GOCCs. Agencies, including the PPA, use the Performance Scorecard—a result of discussions between the agency and the GCG—to establish their strategic measures, goals, and activities under the PES.
The accomplishment of the set targets outlined in the Performance Scorecard becomes instrumental in determining various aspects such as the grant of performance-based incentives to the appointive directors as well as officers and employees of the agency, the reappointment of the agency's head, and the determination of whether or not the agency should be reorganized, merged, privatized, or abolished.
To determine the agency's performance goals for the year, the GCG and the head of agency meet annually for a consultation session known as the PTC. This emphasizes PPA's dedication to maintaining accountability and effectiveness in governance.
The PPA has been a consistent top performer government-owned and controlled corporation. In 2023, the agency was recognized as one of the leading dividend contributors among GOCCs in the country, with a cash remittance of Php4.44 billion.
According to the Department of Finance, PPA was the 4th highest dividend contributor among GOCCs in 2023, behind the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation.
This underscores a trend of increasing dividend hikes by the PPA starting from 2016 with Php1.96 billion, followed by Php3.10 billion in 2017, Php3.52 billion in 2018, a record-high of Php5.05 billion in 2019, Php3.76 billion during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, a rebound to Php4.08 billion in 2021, and the Php4.44 billion in 2022. These figures solidify PPA's position as one of the top GOCCs in terms of dividend remittances.
Over the period of 2016-2022, PPA has remitted a total of 25.91 billion, marking the highest remittance in decades.
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