President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos has named former Philippine Airlines president Jaime Bautista transportation secretary, putting him at the forefront of mobility woes as fuel prices soar to record levels, the incoming leader's spokesman said Thursday.
Bautista was a longtime head of PAL, controlled by taipan Lucio Tan, who led the flag carrier to its first four-star rating from aviation monitor Skytrax and took in Japan's ANA as an investor, on course for a five-star score, until he retired before the pandemic.
READ: Who are Bongbong Marcos' Cabinet Secretaries?
As transportation chief, Bautista will face the task of uplifting the situation of drivers, operators, and commuters who have been affected by the rising prices of fuel products over the past months as a result of the continuing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Marcos earlier said that he was more inclined to provide ayuda to those affected by the rising oil prices than suspend the excise tax on fuel products.
Apart from Bautista, Marcos also named former Light Rail Transit Authority deputy administrator Cesar Chavez as Undersecretary-designate for Rails of the DOTr, journalist and lawyer Cheloy Garafil as chairman-designate of Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, and Christopher "Chet" Pastrana as General Manager-designate of the Philippine Ports Authority.
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