The revenue earned by the Philippine Ports Authority from January to October surged by 30 percent, brought by major reforms paired with good fiscal management and governance at the said agency.
According to PPA general manager, Atty. Jay Daniel Santiago, revenue for the first 10 months of the current year jumped by 30.2 percent hitting an all-time high of P21.06 billion, already breaking the previous record high of P20.53 billion recorded last year.
After contracting by 9.3 percent to P16.64 billion in 2020 from P18.35 billion in 2019 as global trade ground to a halt due to COVID-19 restrictions, the revenue of PPA picked up to P17.67 billion in 2021 and P20.53 billion in 2022 as the global economy gained traction.
Santiago said the agency continues to maximize all revenue fronts to collect the correct amount and reap the benefits of several measures implemented to be more efficient and effective.
"As you can see, all our figures are going up. We at the PPA have consistently increased our revenue as we continue to shift gears during this rebound of the economy from the effects of the pandemic. These increasing figures are the fruits of the past year's policy changes, planning, and strategic management," Santiago said in a press briefing on Monday.
He said he has been championing major reforms and good fiscal management and governance since he was appointed in 2016.
Santiago is now serving his second term following his reappointment by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in October of 2022.
From January to October this year, a notable increase in revenues and profit has been generated by PPA with a total revenue of P21.06B or 30.19 percent growth over the same 10-month period during the previous year due to higher volumes of cargo and vessel income.
For October 2023 alone, the actual revenue is P2.25B or 3.19 percent over the target of P2.18 billion and higher than the revenue last year of the same month by 71.55 percent.
Service and Business Income, on the other hand, accounted for 41.33 percent or P8.70 billion of total revenues while Regulatory Income was at 40.86 percent or P8.60 billion, and recorded Interest and Gains were at 17.91 percent or 3.75 billion.
Net Income amounted to P9.76 billion which is 15.41 percent or P1.30 billion higher than the net income for the same period in 2022.
Red alert
Following the deadly explosion that happened at the gym of Mindanao State University in Marawi City, claiming at least four people and hurting dozens of mass attendees, Santiago said he ordered all ports on Red Alert.
"Since this morning nagpalabas tayo ng red alert kaugnay ng nangyari sa Marawi. We're always on heightened alert naman pero dahil sa nangyari, red alert tayo, meaning intensive ang security, mas marami ang presence ng K9 at least double ang presence ng K9 natin. Generally speaking, all ports of PPA are on red alert," according to Santiago.
