James Go appointed as Cebu Air chairman after Romulo resigns from board

CEBU AIR, Inc. on Monday appointed James L. Go as chairman, after the resignation of long-time chairman Ricardo J. Romulo.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange, the listed operator of Cebu Pacific said Mr. Romulo resigned as director and chairman on May 21.
Mr. Romulo, 83, was the chairman of the Cebu Air board since 1995. He was also the chairman of the executive board of the Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & de los Angeles law firm. He is also the chairman of FPG Insurance Co., Inc., InterPhil Laboratories, Inc., Sime Darby Pilipinas, Inc. and Towers Watson Philippines, Inc.
Mr. Go, chairman of Cebu Air’s parent JG Summit Holdings, Inc., is also a director of the company. In April, he stepped down as chief executive officer from JG Summit, replaced by Lance Y. Gokongwei, who is also president.
Mr. Go also heads Oriental Petroleum and Minerals Corp., JG Summit Petrochemical Corp., JG Summit Olefins Corp., Universal Robina Corp., and Robinsons Land Corp. He is a director of PLDT, Inc. and the Manila Electric Co.
The Gokongwei-led budget carrier reported higher earnings for first quarter, after seeing higher passenger revenues.
In a recent regulatory filing, Cebu Air said its net income reached P1.436 billion during the January to March period, 12% higher year on year. It was driven by an 8.3% increase in revenues, mostly coming from passenger revenues which stood at P13.676 billion.
Shares in Cebu Air dropped 2.49% to close at P87.95 each. — Denise A. Valdez