Alfonso "Al" Gaba Cusi (; born December 4, 1949)Birthday Greeting to CEO Alfonso Cusi
/ref> is a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

businessman from

Naujan, Oriental Mindoro Naujan, officially the Municipality of Naujan ( tgl, Bayan ng Naujan), is a 1st class municipality in the province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 109,587 people. It assumed the status of ...

who served as the 14th

Secretary of Energy The United States secretary of energy is the head of the United States Department of Energy, a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and fifteenth in the presidential line of succession. The position was created on October 1, 1977, when Pr ...

under the Duterte administration from 2016 to 2022. He is also the president of

PDP–Laban Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (), abbreviated as PDP–Laban, is a democratic socialist political party in the Philippines founded in 1982. It was part of the country's ruling party alliance from 1986 to 1992 under the administrat ...

and served in the Arroyo Administration as head of government air and sea transportation agencies from 2001 to 2010. He was the vice chair of PDP–Laban until July 2021, before being elected as its president amid the dispute within the ruling party with the rival faction led by Senators

Koko Pimentel Aquilino Martin de la Llana Pimentel III (born January 20, 1964), commonly known as Koko Pimentel, is a Filipino politician and lawyer serving as the Senate Minority Leader since 2022. He has been a Senator since 2011 and previously served as ...

and

Manny Pacquiao Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao Sr. (; born December17, 1978) is a Filipino politician and former professional boxer. Nicknamed "PacMan", he is regarded as one of the greatest professional boxers of all time. He served as a Senator of the Phil ...

. Cusi and other Department of Energy officials face graft charges, neglect of duty, and grave misconduct before the

Office of the Ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...

over the buyout of Malampaya Philippines Pte. of 45% Chevron Philippines' stake in the Malampaya gas field in Palawan. Cusi is also facing charges of graft, gross neglect of duty, inefficiency and incompetence in the performance of official duties before the Ombudsman in connection with power rate hikes in the Philippines.

Early life and education

Cusi was born in the municipality of

Capiz Capiz, officially the Province of Capiz (Capiznon/ Hiligaynon: ''Kapuoran sang Capiz''; tl, Lalawigan ng Capiz), is a province in the Philippines located in the central section of Western Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Roxas. It ...

(now Roxas City) in the then undivided island province of

. He graduated at the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod (then known as La Salle College Bacolod), earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1972. He also attended the University of the Philippines Cebu in

Cebu City Cebu City, officially the City of Cebu ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Sugbo; fil, Lungsod ng Cebu; hil, Dakbanwa sang Sugbo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines and capital of the Cebu Province. Acc ...

and received a Master of Business Administration in 1976.

Career and businesses

Cusi started his career in shipping. He joined the Aboitiz Shipping Company (now

2GO Group 2GO also known as 2GO Group Inc. is a Philippines-based company engaged in transporting people and cargo using the fleet of inter-island ferries and cargo ships of the former Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Aboitiz Transport System, which owned the bra ...

) in 1973 as Assistant Comptroller. He worked his way up to become the company's and its subsidiaries' Credit Collection Manager, Purchasing Manager, Passage and Stevedorial Manager, and Trucking Manager. By 1977, he was promoted as Assistant to the President, and eventually as Assistant Vice President in 1979, Vice President in 1983, and General Manager and EVP in 1985. He was Senior Vice President and Director before resigning from the company in 1990. Cusi then ventured into his own shipping, logistics and distribution businesses. He founded the Starlite Ferries which offers

roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...

ferry service between his home province

Mindoro Mindoro is the seventh largest and eighth-most populous island in the Philippines. With a total land area of 10,571 km2 ( 4,082 sq.mi ) and has a population of 1,408,454 as of 2020 census. It is located off the southwestern coast of Luz ...

and

Batangas Batangas, officially the Province of Batangas ( tl, Lalawigan ng Batangas ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Its capital is the city of Batangas, and is bordered by the provinces of Cavite and La ...

, as well as

Aklan Aklan, officially the Province of Aklan ( Akeanon: ''Probinsya it Akean'' k'ɣan hil, Kapuoran sang Aklan; tl, Lalawigan ng Aklan), is a province in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. Its capital is Kalibo. The province is situa ...

. He is also the President and founder of Starlite Cargo Xpress. He also entered the retail business with his own chain of convenience stores called Quick Stop. He was invited to join government service in 2001 as General Manager of the

Philippine Ports Authority Philippine Ports Authority ( fil, Pangasiwaan ng Daungan ng Pilipinas) is a government-owned and controlled corporation under the Department of Transportation as an attached agency. It is responsible for financing, management and operations ...

during the first term of President

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Maria Gloria Macaraeg Macapagal Arroyo (, born April 5, 1947), often referred to by her initials GMA, is a Filipino academic and politician serving as one of the House Deputy Speakers since 2022, and previously from 2016 to 2017. She previously ...

. As head of the port authority, he is credited with having introduced and developed seaport terminals throughout the country. He was also the main project head of the Strong Republic Nautical Highway System of the Arroyo administration. In 2004, Cusi was then assigned by Arroyo to lead the

Manila International Airport Authority The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA; fil, Pangasiwaan ng Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Maynila) is a government-owned and controlled corporation and agency under the Department of Transportation of the Philippines responsible for the m ...

. As an airport manager, he was responsible for finally opening the long-delayed

Ninoy Aquino International Airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA , ; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Ninoy Aquino or ''Pandaigdigang Paliparan ng Ninoy Aquino''; ), originally known and still commonly referred to as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main ...

Terminal 3 in 2008. Cusi then assumed leadership of the

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP, ; fil, Pangasiwaan sa Abyasyong Sibil ng Pilipinas) is the civil aviation authority of the Philippines and is responsible for implementing policies on civil aviation to assure safe, econo ...

(CAAP) in March 2010. Cusi resigned from CAAP in December 2010 and returned to his private businesses. He served in the board of

Intex Resources Intex Resources () is an international mining company based in Norway. Its portfolio consists of non-precious minerals and the main project is a nickel project in Mindoro in the Philippines. Other projects include Hurdal and Ramnes, both molyb ...

Philippines which has a nickel and cobalt mining project in his home province of Oriental Mindoro. He was also involved in Double Concept Investments, Ltd. prior to his return to government service under President Rodrigo Duterte on June 30, 2016.

Controversies

Complaints against media outlets

In 2021, Cusi filed libel and cyberlibel complaints against seven news organizations over their stories on the Malampaya deal, which detailing the graft charges filed against him and businessman

Dennis Uy Dennis Ang Uy (; born September 26, 1973) is a Filipino businessman and diplomat. Uy is the founder of Udenna Corporation, which has stakes in various businesses including Phoenix Petroleum. Early life and education Dennis Ang Uy was born a ...

. On June 24, 2022, before his term as Energy Secretary ended, Cusi, through an affidavit of desistance filed in the

Taguig Taguig (), officially the City of Taguig ( fil, Lungsod ng Taguig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 886,722 people. Located in the northwestern shores of ...

City's Prosecutor Office, withdrew these complaints.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cusi, Alfonso 1949 births 20th-century Filipino businesspeople Living people Secretaries of Energy of the Philippines PDP–Laban politicians Heads of government agencies of the Philippines People from Capiz University of St. La Salle alumni University of the Philippines Cebu alumni Arroyo administration personnel Benigno Aquino III administration personnel Duterte administration cabinet members Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Merit (Philippines) 21st-century Filipino businesspeople