In 1979, 45 years ago, Ambassador Carlos Salinas had a dream of setting up a company that would shine the light on—and upgrade the skill set of—the Filipino seafarer. It was clear to him how much the Filipino seamen could offer to global shipping, and he wanted to explore how he could help them achieve their true potential. From only around 2,000 Filipino seafarers in 1979, we can now proudly say 35 percent of the global seafaring workforce is composed of Filipinos. 

The dream, Philippine Transmarine Carriers, Inc. (PTC), has since grown, expanded, and diversified in so many ways. Beyond seafarer education, training and placement, the conglomerate, now called PTC Group of Companuies, is into logistics and cold storage, insurance, real estate development and management, sustainable energy, aviation with its own flight academy to boot, travel and tourism, agriculture and nutrition, and more. It is also the guiding force behind the soon-to-rise Museo de Galeon at the SM Mall of Asia complex. 

There was so much to celebrate the evening Amb. Salinas gathered everyone to celebrate 45 years of PTC recently. It was also a Christmas party that was fun, interactive, and shimmering.