EXCLUSIVE: Has Philtranco shut down for good?

Leaked memo points to permanent closure after company earlier announced temporary suspension.

Philtranco Service Enterprises Inc. has apparently shut down for good, one month before the planned end of its six-month temporary suspension, with a leaked memo identifying August 31 as the company’s final day of operations.

A leaked internal letter dated July 24 informed employees of their termination and the company’s permanent closure. The letter listed August 31 as the company’s last day of operations and workers’ last day of employment. A source confirmed the legitimacy of the letter to radar Business.

In the letter, the company said it was ending operations due to serious business losses. Philtranco management acknowledged its earlier announcement of a temporary suspension from March to September, but it said the company’s finances were unable to recover during the six-month period.

“Dahil sa matindi, tuluy-tuloy, at hindi na mairerebisa na pagkakalugi sa pananalapi (serious business losses) napilitan ang pamunuan na ideklara ang permanenteng pagsasara ng kumpanya,” the letter read.

Philtranco previously informed employees in a February 11 letter that the company would be placed under a six-month temporary suspension from March 30 to September 30. In the earlier letter, Philtranco president and CEO Michael Sabban said the company had attempted to bounce back from economic challenges and alleged embezzlement by previous management.

Unlike the February temporary suspension letter signed by Sabban, the permanent closure letter was only attributed to “mula sa pamunuan.”

The scope of employees who received the letter is unclear. A source told radar Business that the permanent closure letter did not reach drivers and terminal-based staff, who were also kept in the dark about the temporary suspension announcement.

Around 10 remaining staff and their families were forcibly evicted from their barracks at the Turbina terminal in Calamba, Laguna in late May after the company terminated its lease on April 15. Sabban said there were no such barracks, only areas where the terminal-based staff were allowed to stay while the temporary suspension was in place.

Sabban told radar Business in June that Philtranco would not shut down, while management would use the temporary suspension to focus on legal action against the previous company administration.

radar Business reached out to Sabban for comment regarding the July 24 letter, but he did not directly address the claims of permanent closure. Instead, he said the company had ceased operations “since February.”

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