Tycoon Lucio Tan, Sr.’s children, John and Vivienne, are no longer part of the board of PAL Holdings, Inc. (PHI), the parent firm of flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL), resulting in another revamp.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on July 22, PHI said in a Board meeting on July 21, the Nomination and Compensation Committee said it has received from the Tan siblings and independent director Mark M. Chen “a withdrawal of their consent to be nominated to the Board for 2020-2021 for personal reasons.”
On July 24, PHI said that during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting on July 23, the following eight were elected as members of the Board for the ensuing year or until their successors have been elected and qualified: Lucio C. Tan, Carmen K. Tan, Lucio C. Tan III, Joseph Chua, Ryuhei Maeda, Gilbert Gabriel Santa Maria, and independent directors Johnip Cua and Gregorio T. Yu.
The shareholders during the same meeting approved the Amendment of Articles of Incorporation to increase the number of directors from nine to 11. PHI said that “given the aggressive changes” in its management, and in support of its pursuit for good corporate governance, the Board “deemed it best to increase the number of its directors…to allow diversity in the proper management of the Corporation.”
While they are no longer members of PHI’s Board, John and Vivienne still hold positions in other companies of their father.
PHI and PAL have had several changes in its board and management since last year with the resignation of several board members and officials. The company earlier said it is embarking on a digital transformation as a strategy to reduce costs and return to profit after registering losses since 2016.
READ: PAL Holdings chair Lucio Tan Sr. appointed group president; Lucio Tan’s grandson takes key posts in family enterprises
PHI, however, reported a total comprehensive loss jumped to P10.72 billion for the first quarter of 2020 from P60.81 million in the same period last year, as operations were severely affected by worldwide travel restrictions due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
PAL president and chief operating officer Gilbert Santa Maria earlier said they expect a US$1 billion or around P50 billion loss from February until the lifting of quarantine restrictions.
The airline last June resumed some domestic and international flights following the easing of community quarantines nationwide. PAL said it will increase the number of routes and flights in the coming months, if allowed by aviation authorities, global public health conditions and the travel environment.
