Biz buzz: Kintanar leaves DOTr

Some reorganization is due at the Department of Transportation as undersecretary for rails and tollroads Noel Kintanar is set to leave his post before the end of the month. Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade confirmed with Biz Buzz that he accepted the resignation of Kintanar. We understand this takes effect on Nov. 29 this year.

Kintanar joined the DOTr last July after he impressed Tugade with his deep knowledge of the railway sector—a fact the DOTr chief was happy to share during his first press conference. But some of that experience also came from Kintanar’s time as a senior official at Ayala Corp. and its infrastructure subsidiary, AC Infrastructure, just as it expanded in railways.

As many know, Ayala is a shareholder of the consortium that operates the Light Rail Transit Line 1, a train system that Kintanar also oversaw as DOTr undersecretary. The same conglomerate also operates a tollroad, which is the four-kilometer Muntinlupa Cavite Expressway or MCX.

Apparently, endless attacks questioning potential conflict-of-interest eventually took its toll, thus making it hard for Kintanar to perform his role.

We also heard there were forces using that argument to weaken or derail Tugade’s mandate to solve traffic. A lot of his policies, especially when it comes to seeking “special” powers, are unpopular with the existing order of things.

Kintanar’s successor has yet to be named, and it was not certain if Tugade would be able to make a choice by next week. In any case, DOTr insiders assured there would be minimal disruptions in that area and officials were ready to take on added responsibilities with Kintanar’s absence.

We certainly hope so, given the crucial role railways and roads play in moving the country’s infrastructure goals forward. —Miguel R. Camus

‘Junket queen’

The wanderlust of this Cabinet secretary seems to know no territorial bounds.

In the first two months in office, itchy-footed Secretary traveled to six countries, often with a coterie of as many as 15 staff, assistants and consultants. Of the trips, only two really required the department head’s presence, we were told.

Our vagabond Secretary’s weakness for foreign travel already has taken a toll on the department’s workflow. One particular program, which is funded by a regional development agency, had been in limbo since the Secretary has yet to sit down with the agency’s Philippine representative.

Perplexed at the frequent absence of the Secretary, the agency’s representative wrote a former undersecretary for help. But what can a former department deputy do? “If only I could put a seatbelt on the Secretary’s swivel chair,” the former undersecretary told the confused development agency executive.

How does the footloose Secretary fund her travels? It’s actually free, thanks to the private companies that send the invites. But a New York-based media entity is supposedly paying the “consultants” who join the gadding Secretary’s junkets, according to a department insider. Why would a media entity do this? The department exec thinks the media firm has investors who have business deals with the department. —Fe Zamora

New MAP chief

For the first time in a decade, the influential Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) has elected a woman to be its 68th president. And it’s no less than the country’s call center queen Marife Zamora, chair of Convergys Philippines Services Corp. With a workforce of around 60,000, Convergys is the biggest outsourcing employer in the country.

Zamora’s election didn’t come as a surprise since she had served as vice president to outgoing MAP president Perry Pe. Former MAP president Eduardo Francisco, who will serve as vice president to Zamora for the next term, describes her as one who “encourages participation and is a collaborative manager.”

Note that since its inception in 1951, MAP has elected very few female presidents. Zamora thus joins a small circle that includes Evelyn Singson (who served in 2006 and was the last female chief) and Cora dela Paz-Bernardo (who served in 1994).

As a management organization with almost 1,000 members, MAP represents a cross-section of C-suite and top management practitioners from the biggest local and multinational companies operating in the Philippines. Its mission is to promote management excellence for nation-building through the sharing of best management practices, benchmarking with counterpart organizations in other countries, networking with other business organizations here and abroad, embarking on educational activities that enhance the knowledge, skills and values of management practitioners and educators nationwide, training and development programs that produce professional managers and spearheading reforms for nation-building.
Joining Zamora and Francisco in the 2017 MAP leadership plantilla are Ramoncito Fernandez (treasurer); Emmanuel Bonoan (assistant treasurer) and Donald Patrick Lim (secretary). Elected governors are Romeo Bernardo, Alfredo Pascual, Peter Wallace and Eduardo Yap. —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla

New PNOC chief

Retired Admiral Reuben Lista has been sworn in by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi as the new president of Philippine National Oil Corp. (PNOC), the entity tasked with ensuring a stable supply of petroleum products—and likewise one with the mandate to pursue exploration, exploitation and development of energy resources in this part of the world.

Lista, who has Ilocano roots, has skill sets seen suitable for the PNOC job. He was the 18th commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), during which he was credited for piloting the establishment of navigational safety rules and traffic separation schemes, the “Sea Scouts” and regulated the construction of bridges and structures over navigable waters. One brainchild of his was the “Adopt a Lighthouse Program,” designed to promote the upkeep and maintenance of historical lighthouses.

He graduated consistently at the top of his class in BS Marine Transportation at the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (PMMA) in 1969 and holds a Masters degree in International Resource Planning and Management (MIRPM) from the US Naval Postgraduate School. He also holds an MBA degree from the Ateneo de Manila .

The new PNOC chief was a multimedal awardee while serving “with highest distinction and honor” in his various assignments as a line and technical officer in the Philippine Navy, Armed Forces of the Philippines and the PCG. As its first ever commander of the Marine Environmental Protection Command (Mepcom), he was credited for the “development of its laboratory equipment and continually built up its capabilities to address the constantly changing maritime environment.” —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla