By Katrina Gracia Consebido
President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced on Thursday, June 23, the designated heads of agencies and offices to lead the transportation cluster under his administration.
Former Philippine Airlines (PAL) president and chief operating officer Jaime “Jimmy” Bautista will serve as the secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
Bautista is a certified public accountant and served PAL for 25 years and retired in 2019.
Marcos also named Light Rail Transit Authority Deputy Administrator Cesar Chavez as the undersecretary for rails of the DOTr.
Prior to his career in the transport sector, Chavez was an assistant general manager for planning of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, chairperson of the National Youth Commission, and a youth sector representative in the 9th Congress.
Meanwhile, veteran journalist and lawyer Cheloy Garafil was designated as the chairperson of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.
Garafil was a former prosecutor of the Department of Justice and state solicitor of the Office of the Solicitor General. She is currently a service director at the Committee on Rules of the House of Representatives.
Moreover, Christopher “Chet” Pastrana, a businessman in the transportation field, was selected as the general-manager designate of the Philippine Ports Authority. – ag
