Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) general manager Atty. Juan Sta. Ana has stepped down from his post, his resignation taking effect end of December.
Sta. Ana, who will rejoin the private sector, handed his resignation to President Benigno Aquino III through Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya last December 4, PPA said in a statement.
No announcement has been made on Sta. Ana’s replacement.
In his letter of resignation, Sta. Ana said it was with a “heavy heart” he had decided to leave his post, and that he had been contemplating on resigning to rejoin the private sector a few months ago.
PPA said Sta. Ana stayed on in order to finish pending PPA plans and hiring of employees, as well as to see through his international commitments. Sta. Ana, who was elected chairman of the ASEAN Ports Authorities Association for two years, completed his term on November 3, 2015, turning over the chairmanship to Malaysia. Sta. Ana was also council member of the APEC Ports Services Network, which held a seminar in the Philippines last November.
The PPA statement said that in his five years as head of PPA, Sta. Ana focused on good governance issues, including the simplification of business processes in ports in a bid to make public transactions easier. He also pushed for port modernization at various gateway projects, port efficiency, and port productivity in handling cargoes and connectivity.
Under his watch, the statement added, the Governance Commission for Government Owned or Controlled Corporation elevated PPA’s status to a first-class government corporation. Based on the 2014 Commission on Audit report on PPA’s financial statements, the port authority’s assets were valued at P114.53 billion, and its audited revenues for the years 2012, 2013, and 2014 increased to P10.4 billion, P11.7 billion and P13.2 billion, respectively, noting significant increases in the last five years.
In addition to chief of the ports agency, Sta. Ana is also the vice chairman of the PPA board of directors and chairman of the PPA executive board.
“With all these commitments almost done, I think I could already go and return to the private life,” Sta. Ana said.
Before joining PPA in 2010, Sta. Ana was senior vice president of FF Cruz & Co., Inc., one of the largest construction companies in the country, and played a key role in managing several subsidiaries of that company.
Sta. Ana was appointed by Aquino on July 13, 2010.
