The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), one of the government’s top revenue earners, is implementing a rationalization plan, hoping to cut a significant chunk of its workforce all over the country.
The agency’s change management team issued a memorandum to all its employees last month saying 570 positions, or about 30% of its employees, are going to be "affected" by the rationalization measure. PPA has about 2,000 employees that operate 114 terminals all over the country.
The move is fanning speculation that those occupying low-ranking plantilla positions would be promoted and clerical jobs contracted out. Such a practice is prevalent in the private sector.
PPA has already stopped hiring new employees-also a Malaca–ang directive-but is promoting to fill the void in the skeletal workforce.
"Incumbents holding a permanent appointment are given two months within which to decide whether to remain in PPA or avail of retirement/separation benefits, if qualified, plus the allowable incentive," the notice said.
"Incumbents holding a temporary appointment attested by the Civil Service Commission may opt to remain in PPA but are guaranteed tenure up to the expiration of their appointment only," it added.
The PPA measure is based on Malaca–ang Executive Order No. 366 released in October last year, that all department secretaries will conduct a strategic review of operations and organizations of the department component units, including agencies and government-owned and -controlled corporations attached to or under the department’s administrative supervision. Target date of submission of the reengineering plan of the agencies should have been November last year but was postponed several times due to changes in President Arroyo’s Cabinet.
For the first seven months of the year, PPA’s net income went down more than 7% to P1.81 billion from the previous year’s P1.95 billion, mainly as a result of lower cargo volumes in the country.
