Indeed, the Philippine Airlines saga continues – with a surprising plot twist of sorts.
Today, Jan. 31, the board of directors of flag carrier Philippine Airlines will meet and part of the agenda is the departure of PAL president and COO Gilbert Santa Maria.
As I reported yesterday, Santa Maria is stepping down from his post, as multiple sources told me. The exact date and the reasons aren’t very clear and I’m actually surprised to hear about this, especially after PAL, under Santa Maria’s leadership, was able to successfully exit Chapter 11 last year.
It secured a US Bankruptcy Court’s approval for its rehabilitation plan, a process widely respected by creditors and shareholders worldwide, across different industries.
Known as a “corporate turnaround guy,” Santa Maria took over the leadership of PAL in July 2019, a very turbulent time. In October that year, he presented to the board his turnaround plan for PAL, and in the latter part of the year COVID-19 struck.
Following Santa Maria’s departure, the Tans are expected to name an OIC until a new president is appointed. Sources say one of Kapitan’s son-in-laws may be named OIC.
Whatever his reasons are for leaving, Santa Maria will leave PAL with his mission accomplished, which was to get PAL back on its feet amid all the turbulence made worse by a debilitating pandemic.
PAL, after all, successfully emerged from a landmark Chapter 11 filing and is on its way to implementing its rehabilitation plan.
The whole process was not without challenges, insiders say, and to have done it was quite a feat given that shareholders and stakeholders agreed and supported it; there were no labor strikes like what the company faced in the past; there was no government bailout, and there were no disruption in operations related to the Chapter 11 filing.
Credit goes to PAL management and its employees.
Given this milestone, I really can’t help but wonder why Santa Maria would choose to leave the company at this time. Did some quarters disagree with his management style? Is there somebody interested in his position? Or did some shareholders realize they didn’t want a professional executive? Or did Santa Maria simply feel he had done his job and that it was time to move on?
Only Santa Maria and his principals know for sure. I tried, but was unable to reach him for comment as of press time.
I know that some people in PAL, including former employees, disagreed with his ways and management style, but I also know that he earned the respect of some employees who stayed, especially since he started conducting regular virtual town hall meetings.
Some PAL pilots and crew members I’ve talked to agreed with his policies and they are happy that PAL is slowly getting back on its feet.
All they really want to do is to keep flying and they didn’t stop even at the height of the pandemic last year, volunteering for sweeper flights to fetch distressed overseas Filipinos stranded in different parts of the globe. They did this even with all the hazards, but without the hazard pay.
When I joined a PAL repatriation flight to Lebanon in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, I had a chance to chat with the crew on board and they shared with me that they were honored to be part of a historic mission to fetch distressed OFWs in the Western Asian country, which was at the brink of economic collapse then. They did this despite COVID-19 related risks – there were no available vaccines yet at the time.
Truly, the heart of the Filipino was beating at 30,000 feet in the air.
Such dedication of PAL employees to their work, to our fellow Filipinos, and to our country is admirable.
Since COVID-19 struck, PAL had to let go of roughly 30 percent of its workforce. Those who stayed did not even know if they would be able to fly again or have a job when they wake up the next day. One pilot even asked my help for a back-up plan.
And yet, they stayed on – driven, committed, passionate.
With this kind of commitment, PAL employees certainly deserve a leader worthy of them, and the love and respect they have for their jobs.
They need a leader and a board of directors who will really guide PAL to greater heights, with competent and professional management and operations, good corporate governance, and independence.
Unfortunately, many of PAL’s esteemed independent directors such as businessman Greg Yu and former Bangko Sentral governor Amando Tetangco Jr. have resigned.
Yu resigned in July 2021 while Tetangco left in December 2019. At the time of their resignations, they chaired the corporate governance committee.
Observers say it can’t be back to the old days when there was a lot of turbulence inside brought about by mismanagement, power struggles, clashing egos, financial distress, labor issues, etc. Instead, the company really needs to be run professionally, guided by a board of directors with independent directors who are truly independent.
What happens next is anybody’s guess. Will the heart of the Filipino continue to beat? Will it experience some heaviness on its chest? Or will it flatline altogether? Or maybe, just maybe, the strongest hearts don’t break easily.
Iris Gonzales’ email address is eyesgonzales@gmail.com. Follow her on Twitter @eyesgonzales. Column archives at eyesgonzales.com