There seems to be a big shake up happening at the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

Earlier today, Malacanang announced that Jaime Bautista, the Secretary of Transportation (SOTr) since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office in 2022, has resigned. The reason given: health.

Taking the top spot as the Secretary of Transportation will be Vivencio “Vince” Bringas Dizon.

Dizon is a former economics professor at DLSU, but has spent a lot of time working in politics and government, starting with the presidential campaign of Fernando Poe Jr. in 2004, then under President Benigno Aquino III, and then as consultant to Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.

In 2016, he was involved in the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte in various positions such as the President of BCDA until 2021, adviser for flagship projects (e.g. BBB), and even during the pandemic as the “Testing Czar” for the IATF-EID and as adviser for COVID-19 response.

He will be the 41st Secretary of Transportation once confirmed, and has already been authorized by the Office of the President to begin the transition from Bautista’s DOTr administration. Currently, they are coordinating efforts in the transition period.

Dizon faces a challenging transport landscape, with many projects that are facing long delays and setbacks in completion. Rail projects are moving slower than initially announced, such as the Metro Manila Subway, MRT-7 and more. He also faces plenty of changes and challenges in the aviation sector such as new airports, air traffic, and more. And of course there is the ever present problem of road traffic congestion.

The new SOTr has a lot of work ahead.