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Maritime Industry Authority Administrator Robert Empedrad vacated his post on June 30
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Empedrad stepped down pursuant to Memorandum Circular No. 1, which declared certain posts vacant, including those held by presidential appointees whose tenure is considered co-terminus with that of former president Rodrigo Duterte
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Newly elected President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has yet to appoint a new MARINA administrator
Robert Empedrad vacated his post as administrator of the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) on June 30.
Empedrad announced his action to media in a Viber message on July 4.
MARINA said Empedrad vacated his post pursuant to Memorandum Circular No. 1, series of 2022, issued by the Office of the President on dated June 30, 2022.
MC 1-2022 declared certain posts vacant, including those held by all presidential appointees whose appointments were considered co-terminus with the tenure of the previous president.
Empedrad was appointed to MARINA by former President Rodrigo Duterte in March 2020.
Before that, Empedrad was chief of the Philippine Navy until his retirement in February 2020 after reaching the mandatory retirement age.
A graduate of the Philippine Military Academy Sinagtala Class of 1986, Empedrad assumed various posts in the Philippine Navy before becoming officer-in-command of the naval warfare service in 2017.
As of press time, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has yet to appoint a new MARINA administrator.
MARINA is an attached agency of the Department of Transportation. Another DOTr-attached maritime agency, the Philippine Ports Authority, recently welcomed its new general manager, Christopher Pastrana.
Pastrana, chair of Archipelago Philippine Ferries Corp. (APFC), replaced Jay Daniel Santiago, who has been PPA chief since 2016.
Pastrana founded the CAPP Group of Companies involved in the trading of bulk raw materials for the cement industry. In 2002, he ventured into tug and barge operations and in the same year, he started Philharbor Ferries and Port Services and APFC, which operates catarman-type roll-on/roll-off vessels. He has since expanded into ship management, ship repair, port operations and maritime training.
Pastrana is currently president of Philippine Inter-island Shipping Association, the umbrella organization of various shipping associations, and president of the Philippine RoRo Operators Association. He is also a director of Interferry, a shipping association representing the ferry industry worldwide.
