Alsons names new top execs

MANILA, Philippines — Businessman Tomas Alcantara is passing on the reins of publicly listed Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. (ACR) to his brother Nicasio Alcantara effective March due to health reasons.

Tomas, former undersecretary at the Department of Trade and Industry and head of the Board of Investments, became chairman of Alsons in 2001.

He will remain a director of the company as Nicasio assumes the position of ACR chairman and president upon the former’s retirement.

Nicasio led ACR as chairman and president from 1995 to 2001.

He was chairman and CEO of Petron Corp. from 2001 to 2009.

At present, Nicasio holds leadership positions and board directorships in several companies including ACR Mining Corp. where he serves as chairman and Phoenix Petroleum where he sits as an independent director.

ACR likewise announced the appointment of Alexander Benhur Simon as vice president and group CFO and the assumption of Antonio Miguel Alcantara to the new position of chief investment and strategy officer.

“Under Tomas Alcantara’s leadership, ACR helped end the Mindanao power shortage by bringing online two major power facilities that added 313 mega-watts to the island’s power supply. It was because of his vision and guidance that ACR is now a major power generator with four power facilities serving over eight million people in 14 cities and 11 provinces in Mindanao,” said ACR executive vice president Tirso Santillan Jr.

The Alcantara Group’s ACR is the first private sector power generator in Mindanao and continues to expand. It is currently building a P4.5 billion 14.5–mega-watt (MW) run-of-river hydroelectric power plant at the Siguil River basin in Maasim, Sarangani province. This is the company’s first foray into renewable energy.

The Siguil hydropower plant is expected to begin commercial operations in 2022. Also in the company’s pipeline is the P16 billion 105-megawatt San Ramon Power Inc. baseload coal-fired power plant in Zamboanga City, slated to begin operations in 2024.

The company is shifting its focus on renewables with at least seven more run-of-river hydroelectric plants in various stages of development.

It has two hydro facilities in the pipeline, the 22 MW Siayan (Sindangan) hydro plant in Zamboanga del Norte and the 42 MW Bago hydro plant in Negros Occidental – the company’s first power venture outside of Mindanao.