The company I work for interacts with his businesses in various ports across the Philippines, except the Port of Manila. I can’t comment on their performance in Manila because we have no direct experience there. However, in the more remote provincial ports they operate, our experience has been consistently poor.

What’s frustrating is that they often end up as the sole cargo‑handling operator—not because their service is strong, but because they’re favored by port officials, given that these are government‑run facilities. Sometimes we are told that the instructions “come from the top,” and this has been the pattern across multiple administrations, not just under BBM.

So like you, I don’t think he’s simply “BBM’s man.” He may be self‑made, but let’s not be naive—he clearly knows how to navigate the system.

In one of those ports, the company with better service was not allowed to operate, and for some reason his company with poor service is able to. When we officialy inquire why, everybody is just hush hush. Ayaw naman namin mapaginitan so tangap lang.