The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) is set to receive another Green Port Award for its Cagayan de Oro
Port, a testament that the agency remains critical to achieving sustainable port operations.
PPA said the award was a culmination of group efforts in its CDO Port, under the Port Management
Office of Misamis Oriental/Cagayan de Oro, to maintain efficient operating processes while maintaining a
high level of balance with the environment.
The Cagayan De Oro port is dubbed as the Global Gateway to Mindanao for its strategic location at the
Northern Coast of Mindanao within Macajalar Bay. The port serves as the entry and exit point of
passengers and goods to and from the adjacent urban cities and provinces and other parts of the Philippine
archipelago. It also links conveyances to countries such as Vietnam, China, Australia, and the United
States, among others.
In a letter sent to PPA by APEC Port Services Network Secretary-General Jia Dashan dated 11 October
2021, it was stressed that the CDO port has satisfactorily complied with the scorecard laid out by experts
in its Green Port Award System or GPAS.
“The GPAS Evaluation Committee has reviewed and evaluated all the applications for GPAS 2021 and
scored each applicant according to its compliance to the various indicators,” Dashan explained in the
letter.
“The score of your application has reached the criteria of GPAS, and I am very pleased and honored to
advise you that the Port of Cagayan de Oro is again awarded the GPAS 2021,” Dashan revealed.
The GPAS Award Ceremony will be held virtually on November 16, 2021 during the APEC Smart Port
Development Forum in Qingdao, China.
The GPAS program is a green evaluation system for ports in the APEC region. The program is intended
to improve environmental awareness as well as increase the understanding of green port development
strategy, with the aim of achieving a balance between economic development and environmental
protection in the APEC ports community; promote the sustainable development of ports in the APEC
region and protect the port environment for the benefit of the entire APEC community; contribute to the
harmonization of regulations and improve the interoperability of green port systems in the APEC region;
establish an APEC green port performance benchmark based on this program, share best practices and
encourage mutual assistance among APEC ports.
“PPA is committed heavily in the adoption of measures to fully protect the environment and reduce the
carbon footprint of ports in the continuing fight against Climate Change,” PPA General Manager Jay
Daniel R. Santiago said.
“This award is a big boost to PPA particularly now that we are in the midst of preparing and developing
the PPA Port Environmental Code, which will define the priorities of the PPA in terms of environmental
protection,” he added.
Batangas Port was also given the same recognition a couple of years ago. Both ports are Certified to ISO
9001:2008 and recognized for their implementation of the Port Safety, Health, and Environmental
Management System (PSHEMS).
The two ports also successfully migrated to the Integrated Management System fusing in three
international standards, namely: ISO 9001:2015 for Quality Management System, ISO 14001:2015 for
Environmental Management System, and 45001:2018 for Occupational Health and Safety Management,
to further solidify its quality, safety, health and environmental policies, and commitment for the
protection of the environment, provision of safe and healthy working conditions and improved quality of
port operations and services.
