NEWLY installed Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) general manager Atty. Juan Sta. Ana said privatization will be the port agency's key direction under his watch.
Sta. Ana said his administration will leave port operations to the private sector because this will not only reduce financial pressure on PPA but also eliminate questions of regulatory capture.
Regulatory capture occurs when a state regulatory agency created to act in the public interest instead acts in favor of the commercial or special interests that dominate in the industry or sector it is charged with regulating.
“I have already talked with my team and we will be coming out with a synchronized plan on the ports that will be privatized,” he said.
“We will also study if we can privatize some of the ro-ro (roll on-roll off) ports which the previous administration introduced.”
Sta. Ana's predecessor Atty Oscar Sevilla earlier identified Davao port as next in line for privatization.
The port handles the bulk of trade in Mindanao. Its cargo throughput is expected to reach 3.708 million metric tons this year.
