Straight as an arrow

If there is one thing that I’m absolutely sure of, it is that Transportation Secretary Jimmy Bautista is straight as an arrow.

He is a self-made man. He served in various executive capacities in the Lucio Tan Group for 39 years, the last 24 years of which were with flag carrier Philippine Airlines and its subsidiaries.

Bautista was president of PAL from 2004-2012, and from 2014-2019. At the flag carrier, he served various posts as vice president for finance and chief finance officer.

I personally know him as a decent, low-key, down-to-earth, unassuming person who has now become the victim of irresponsible and baseless accusations.

Back in June 2022, President-elect Marcos plucked him out of retirement to head the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

He could just have continued playing golf, living a relaxed lifestyle spent with his family and friends, a few consultancies here and there. The life of a retired successful chief executive.

But the call to serve his country under the newly elected president was too loud to ignore.

His baptism of fire came when on New Year’s Day this year, a severe power outage temporarily impacted air traffic control at NAIA, disrupting hundreds of flights and leaving tens of thousands of travellers stranded.

Bautista then apologized for the inconvenience caused to passengers, explaining that the airport’s central air traffic control system had suffered from a severe power outage. Even the back-up power supply failed to supply enough power.

Around 300 flights were affected and about 65,000 passengers inconvenienced as a result of NAIA’s shutdown on New Year’s Day.

This was of course not Bautista’s doing. It just so happened that when he came in, the back-up power supply system was already old and needed an upgrade.

But nothing could have prepared Bautista for what was about to happen.

Jeffrey Tumbado, former executive assistant of LTFRB chairman Teofilo Guadiz III, claimed there was corruption at the LTFRB in relation to the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program which he said also involved other officials at the DOTr and Malacañang.

Tumbado claimed that at least P5 million is paid in exchange for franchises, securing routes and special permits. The former LTFRB official said he was a “middleman” for the scheme. He added that even LTFRB’s regional officials have a quota of P2 million to be given to the central office.

President Marcos ordered the suspension of Guadiz. In a statement released by the PCOO, it said “the President does not tolerate any misconduct in his administration and has instructed the immediate investigation of this matter. He strongly condemns dishonesty and duplicity in public service.”

Guadiz meanwhile maintained his innocence in the accusations hurled by his former head executive assistant, saying he was surprised as this (allegation of corruption) came from a person he trusted, his HEA, and since there is no truth to this.

Tumbado would however later retract his allegations of corruption within the agency, saying they were “all unintentional and misguided” and “borne out of impulse, irrational thinking, misjudgment, poor decision making.”

Meanwhile, Bautista vehemently denied involvement in any corrupt activities and expressed his intention to take legal action against those tarnishing his reputation.

The DOTr chief also said they have launched an investigation on the allegations of corruptions.

Bautista has also filed cyberlibel complaints against individuals who had linked him to the purported corruption within the LTFRB.

During a press conference led by Manibela chairman Mar Valbuena on Oct. 9, Tumbado accused Bautista and Guadiz of corruption and irregularities.

Fortunately, Bautista still enjoys the trust and support of the stakeholders at the LTO who still believe in his integrity and leadership skills mainly due to his sterling record as a corporate executive under the Lucio Tan Group.

However, there are new allegations from concerned stakeholders about a certain consultant who was given carte blanche to run LTO, giving out orders saying that they come from the Secretary.

This consultant is known to be a close ally of Guadiz during his short but tumultuous stint at the LTO.

They added that this consultant had partnered with Guadiz in the reshuffle of LTO regional directors last May 22 with juicy regional office postings awarded to their handpicked men despite their questionable credentials and unsavory track record.

This self-styled “Little Secretary,” as some would call him, had even made an announcement at the oath-taking of the newly appointed regional directors that Guadiz was set to return as LTO chief.

This had struck terror among some concerned regional directors who whispered it around in the halls and corners of LTO offices around the country. This loud whispers reached the ears of concerned stakeholders in the LTO, and horrified, led to them taking out a half page ad calling for the President to appoint a new LTO chief and not recycle or reappoint a person who was already “proven ineffective.”

The reorganization, the stakeholders say, sadly undid the work of Duterte-era LTO chief assistant secretary Edgar Galvante who had served a full six years at the LTO during the term of former president Rodrigo Duterte sans anomalies and controversies.

Stakeholders say that in fairness to Galvante, “payola” systems and corruption quotas and “SOPs” were removed from the vocabulary in regional and district offices of the LTO.

From July 2016 to June 30, 2022, during Galvante’s tenure, sources revealed that more than 100 district/extension offices and DLROs were opened by LTO. The chiefs of these new LTO offices never experienced the concept of “monthly payola”.

They said that when Guadiz was appointed as new LTO chief, he returned the “monthly payola.”

Let the axe fall where it should fall. But make sure that we spare the innocent ones.

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