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The Philippine Ports Authority will issue holdover authority to cargo-handling operators, passenger terminal building operators, and roll-on/roll-off service providers with contracts or HOA that have expired or are due to expire after December 2025
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This will ensure continuous provision of services in PPA ports
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HOAs issued for calendar year 2025 are extended until December 31, 2026 and apply to operators duly approved by the PPA Board of Directors
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HOAs issued solely for 2026 will be valid from January 1, 2026 until December 31, 2026
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PPA will take over the operations and facilities through a special takeover unit in ports where operators did not apply for a HOA or failed to comply with the renewal requirements and performance evaluation findings
The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) will issue holdover authority (HOA) to cargo-handling operators, passenger terminal building (PTB) operators, and roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) service providers with contracts or HOA that have expired or are due to expire after December 2025 to ensure continuous provision of their services in PPA ports.
HOAs issued for calendar year 2025 are extended until December 31, 2026 and apply to operators duly approved by the PPA Board of Directors, according to PPA Administrative Order (AO) No. 002-2026 dated March 12.
HOAs issued solely for 2026 will be valid from January 1, 2026 until December 31, 2026.
As a general rule, the validity of a HOA will be until December 31, 2026, or until the issuance of a contract or notice to proceed has been issued to a new operator, whichever comes earlier, unless otherwise revoked or cancelled.
AO No. 002-2026 covers cargo-handling operators, PTB operators, Ro-Ro service providers that have complied with audit findings and have been duly approved by the PPA Board of Directors for HOA issuance for calendar year 2025, as well as those that applied for 2026.
It also covers cargo-handling operators, PTB operators, and Ro-Ro service providers whose applications were submitted in 2025 and are pending the conduct of performance evaluation of the concerned PPA port management office (PMO) and Port Operations and Services Department (POSD).
Operators and service providers may file a letter of intent for the issuance of HOA within 15 days after the effectivity of AO No. 002-2026.
The issuance of the HOA will be subject to compliance with certain conditions. Among these are that the cargo-handling operator, PTB operator, or Ro-Ro service provider has no outstanding financial obligation with PPA and no pending case against PPA.
They must also have complied with the requirements of concerned government agencies such as Social Security System, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and Department of Labor and Employment.
They must also have a valid accreditation certificate.
Additionally for cargo-handling operators, they must also have submitted an updated portworkers retirement and separation fund.
PPA, through the concerned PMOs and POSD, will conduct performance evaluation of all operators with application for HOA issuance in accordance with AO No. 002-2026.
PPA will take over the operations and facilities through a special takeover unit in ports where operators did not apply for a HOA or failed to comply with the renewal requirements and performance evaluation findings.
PPA for years has been extending the HOAs of port service providers that have expired before a new contract has been made to ensure continuous provision of services at ports. PPA also creates special takeover units to take over the operation of ports when necessary, such as when the existing cargo-handling operator’s contract has expired and no operator has been selected yet.
