Controversial ports and shipping operator Christopher Pastrana’s appointment as Philippine Ports Authority General Manager has become murkier by the day.
Transportation Secretary Jimmy Bautista issued Special Order No. 2022-129 on July 1 naming Port Manager Manuel A. Boholano as officer-in-charge GM of PPA “until July 31 or until a replacement has been appointed or designated, whichever comes first.”
Boholano has been with the PPA since 1988 and he has been promoted Port Manager in 2005. He has been stationed in the Port Management Office of Eastern Leyte/Samar since 2020.
The order reinforces Bautista’s statement during his visit to the PPA on July 4 where he declared that he was still “awaiting for the appointment” of a GM.
Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said Pastrana’s appointment remained amid a report by a pro-Marcos blogger who claimed Marcos has withdrawn Pastrana’s nomination for the post.
Pastrana was announced as the new PPA GM on June 23 and took his oath of office with President Bongbong Marcos on June 30.
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The appointment of an OIC-GM has spurred speculation that Malacanang has been having second thoughts on appointing Pastrana whose vested interests, along with the P131 million unpaid debt to the Department of Trust, has placed him in a conflict of interest situation.