BBM picks Ex-PAL exec Jaime Bautista as DOTr head

As the country transitions to the next administration at the end of this month, one of the key appointments lie in the transport sector, especially since the outgoing leadership is leaving behind a lot of big-ticket infrastructure projects aimed to provide better transport solutions to the public.

As such, a former airline executive has been picked by President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to lead the Department of Transportation (DOTr). Former Philippine Airlines (PAL) president and COO Jaime Bautista will serve as the next DOTr Secretary once the Marcos administration starts work on July 1.

When Bautista was at the helm of Philippine Airlines in 2018, he was largely credited for making the company the first Philippine airline to earn a four-star rating from the international air transport organization Skytrax. The rating organization noted major improvements to the airline's end-to-end passenger experience, including in-flight entertainment.

Aside from Bautista, former undersecretary Cesar Chavez was also appointed as railways undersecretary together with Cheloy Garafil and Christopher Pastrana, who will head the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Philippine Ports Authority, respectively.

There's a big challenge ahead for the upcoming DOTr secretary. But if he manages to turn things around as he did in PAL, then the country's transport sector could very well have positive growth.