Jimmy Bautista: The best CEO of PAL ever

Allow me to give my personal tribute to a dear friend Jaime “Jimmy” Bautista who recently retired as president and CEO of Philippine Airlines (PAL). I last met him during the 100th year celebration of the Rotary Club of Manila and in front of his wife… I told him that he was the ,resident of PAL… bar none! I’m old enough to have known PAL when I used to meet my father when he arrived from Manila at the old Lahug Airport on board a PAL DC-3… where I would greet him at the door of the plane. Those were the days when security was non-existent.

No doubt, PAL has had its ups and downs and was even forced to shut down and went on a massive rehabilitation and emerged as the Turnaround Airline of the Year in 2006 and 2016. Finally profitability came from the years 2004 to 2008 and in the years 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Today, PAL, known as Asia’s first airline is not just the best in the Philippines, but is considered the 30th best airline in the world, and the World’s Most Improved Airline for 2019, besting more than 300 other airlines. Today it has garnered a 4-Star slot by Skytrack, this is happening to PAL despite competition from other foreign airlines.

Of course, Jimmy Bautista could not have done what he has accomplished for PAL if it were not for the full support of PAL Chairman, Dr. Lucio  Tan, the architect of the PAL comeback and the 9,000 members of the PAL family. Last year, I joined Jimmy Bautista to Toulouse, France to get the first Airbus 350-900 with other media guests. Today most of the Airbus planes have already been delivered and the only negative news for me was the fact that finally, Jimmy Bautista has already retired.

At this point we can only hope that PAL would have a replacement for Jimmy Bautista that is half as good as he is. Call Lucio Tan lucky that PAL was headed by Jimmy Bautista who helped him in difficult times and truly made PAL an airline that we Filipinos are all proud of! Thanks Jimmy Bautista for the great things you did for PAL!’

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 While it has happened last week, the incident that former Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña has done to his office three days before the end of his term has truly incensed many people, including those who once ago believed in him. That he has justified his move during an interview on DZMM only made matters worse… because he actually removed items like the tiles or the toilet bowl in his toilet because he considered these items as his personal belongings. Apparently, it has also happened to his vice-mayoralty candidate, Councilor Mary Ann delos Santos… who like him also lost the elections.

So the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) is looking at possible charges against former Mayor Osmeña. One can be vandalism or destruction of government property. While most pundits say that since he has lost his mandate… that for them is punishment enough for the former Mayor. But for the sake of future events or incidents we would like to find out what really is the score in this case?

Our family business is leasing to private companies wherein we ask from them a security deposit for the contracted year. When that contract expires, before we return the Security Deposit we have to inspect the premises before it is vacated and if everything is intact then that is the time we return the security deposit. So, does the government also do the same thing? Abangan!

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Last Sunday evening, for the first time in six years, I entered the Cebu Provincial Capitol to attend the inaugural ceremonies for the comebacking Cebu Governor, Gwen Garcia. It was her 4th unprecedented term and yes, the pomp and splendor of the three terms that she was governor have returned to the Province of Cebu. Her inaugural speech was 45 minutes long and featured the main events of her time as governor.

She began with her talk about the Sugbuak days way back in 2003 where old selfish politicians tried to break the Province of Cebu into four separate provinces. Thank God the proponents of Sugbuak lost, but eventually, during the last six months of her 3rd and last term, the DILG under Secretary Mar Roxas suspended her, which was not even a court order and he used then PNP Col. Marcelo Garbo to literally remove her from her office where she holed out for many months.

But that was the past… and today Gov. Gwen proudly announced that Mar Roxas was number 16 in Cebu in the senatorial race… while Gen. Marcelo Garbo has disappeared when no less than Pres. Duterte tagged him as a “Narco General”. So now the task of Gov. Gwen is to get back what Cebu lost in the last six years to be the No. 1 Province once again!

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