Aguilar replaces Ortiz as TransCo head

Arthur Aguilar, general manager of state holding firm National Development Co. (NDC), officially took over yesterday as president of National Transmission Corp. (TransCo).

Aguilar replaced Alan T. Ortiz just two months before the expected bidding of TransCo concession on Nov. 7.

In his five-year stint at TransCo, the operator of the country’s transmission highways, Ortiz was instrumental in averting a blackout-free Luzon for four straight years. TransCo also became the first transmission company in Asia with its management system ISO-certified and recognized as the best governed government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) in the country.

Ortiz also managed to respond to the threat of an impending power crisis in the Visayas by fasttracking vital transmission projects like the construction of Leyte-Cebu and Cebu-Mactan transmission lines.

Ortiz led TransCo in obtaining ISO certification, the first government corporation to hurdle the stringent ISO certification process in all its key functional and regional areas. He further led the divestment of TransCo’s sub-transmission assets to electric distributors with asset sales amounting to P1 billion.

Aguilar, on the other hand, served as general manager of NDC. He has wide knowledge on asset privatization as he co-authored the original privatization law in the Philippines and played an instrumental role in the establishment of the Asset Privatization Trust (APT) which, in turn, tasked him to privatize Island Cement Corp. and to manage Maricalum Mining Corp. and the Menzi Development Corp.

The newly-appointed TransCo head also served as executive vice president of Robinson’s Land Corp. where he held the concurrent position of general manager of broadsheet newspaper Manila Times.

NDC is the investment arm of the government where Aguilar undertook a highly successful program of reengineering and selling government assets and enterprises. He was likewise concurrent chairman and CEO of the Philippine National Construction Corp. (PNCC).

He is also credited with profitably managing and successfully privatizing Interbank (a joint venture with American Express) as well as the National Shipping Corp. of the Philippines and Filipinas Palm Oil Corp.

Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said with Aguilar’s appointment, TransCo will continue to implement its critical projects especially in the Visayas and Mindanao where increasing power demand requires a reliable transmission system.

Aguilar is a graduate of the De La Salle University with degrees in political science, history and accounting. He has a Master of Management degree from the Asian Institute of Management and holds a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University in Massachusetts, USA. He started his career in investment banking and project finance in reputable investment banks and financing houses overseas, such as the Singapore-based ASEAM Bank, the World Bank’s International Finance Corp., and Bancom Development Corp.

Aside from Aguilar, Malacañang had also announced possible changes in several other energy agencies.

Mary Anne B. Colayco, a former Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) commissioner, will reportedly replace Nieves Osorio as president of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM). PSALM handles and oversees the privatization of the generation assets of the National Power Corp. (Napocor).

Former ERC commissioner Oliver Butalid, on the other hand, is expected to assume Aguilar’s position in NDC. Butalid has just ended his term as commissioner at the ERC.