Palace names Macapagal new PNR chairman
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. appointed former San Francisco executive, Michael Ted Macapagal, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Philippine National Railways (PNR).
A member of the board of directors of the Philippine National Oil Company, Macapagal used to be a member of the Clark board and Gulf Oil Philippines.
He broke America’s so-called glass ceiling by becoming the first Filipino to have managed a major title insurance company in the United States.
Macapagal took his oath of office before Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, under whose authority PNR operates, on May 2.
The new chairman and PNR GM Jeremy Regino will work together to implement the 147.26 kilometers North-South Commuter Railway Project from Clark to Metro Manila and then to Calamba City in Laguna.
Earlier, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. observed that the project is part of his commitment to spur economic development. The construction will generate at least 2,000 jobs and create innumerable livelihood opportunities.
The Asian Development Bank and Japan International Cooperation Agency are financing the project at a cost of P873.62 billion.
Marcos said that once the project is completed, 800,000 passengers will be able to travel safely and in comfort on commuter trains everyday. It will also cut travel time from four hours to two hours.
Macapagal spent time in the US, where he worked for years as division president of Stewart Title Company of San Francisco Bay Area. The company is one of the largest underwriters in the world. It has offices in the US and in 80 other countries.
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