Letter to the Editor: Disciplined execution consistent with the One Guam framework

By Rory Respicio

As the Port of Guam enters 2026, the focus is on continuity through execution. This will not be a year of reset or redirection. It will be a year centered on delivering commitments already made, protecting the systems built over time and ensuring the port continues to perform reliably as modernization advances.

This message is a clear case for continuity of management and leadership principles under shared governance. The progress outlined here did not occur in isolation, by chance, or through happenstance.

It reflects deliberate preparation paired with disciplined execution over time. Luck is often described as preparation meeting opportunity and the port has been planning and executing simultaneously for years.

The systems now in place are designed to endure and perform consistently over time. This is what effective succession planning looks like: continuity of purpose, standards and performance beyond any single individual.

Continuity is institutional, not personal. It does not depend on any one tenure. It depends on preserving the standards, systems, and disciplines that guide how the Port operates and makes decisions.

The emphasis remains on protecting governance integrity, financial controls and operational practices that were deliberately built through coordinated board and management action and that must endure over time.

Since 2019, the Port’s progress has followed a deliberate path. The initial focus was stabilization and reset, restoring governance, fiscal controls and institutional credibility.

Those systems were tested during the Covid-19 pandemic as the port remained fully operational, protecting Guam’s supply chain while reinforcing workforce safety and financial discipline.

Subsequent years focused on recovery, structural correction, rebuilding capacity and strengthening accountability, including improved financial systems, clean audits, reinvestment in critical equipment and strengthened revenue integrity.

By 2023 and 2024, the port advanced strategic alignment and readiness. The master plan progressed, cross-divisional coordination improved, and the port’s role within national security and Indo-Pacific readiness discussions became more defined.

Federal alignment supported sustainability, emissions reduction, and infrastructure planning tied to climate, resilience, and defense objectives. In 2025, reforms were institutionalized, execution readiness took priority and the port prepared for major capital delivery while marking its 50th anniversary and recognizing the workforce that sustained the institution.

This progress has been made possible through shared responsibility and consistent alignment, including the Board of Directors’ adoption of a resolution establishing the strategic framework for Look Ahead 2026. The port has operated in close coordination with Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero and Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio under the One Guam framework, and under the steady oversight and policy guidance of the Board of Directors. Board Chairperson Dorothy P. Harris, Vice Chairperson Conchita S. N. Taitano, Board Secretary Fe R. Valencia Ovalles and Board Member Mark B. Mendiola have provided continuity, accountability, and governance discipline that support long-term institutional strength.

Execution at this scale depends on disciplined leadership across the organization. As general manager, I rely on the operational and administrative leadership of Deputy General Managers Dominic Muña and Pacifico Martir, along with division heads and management teams who translate policy into daily execution. Their accountability, coordination, and adherence to established systems are essential to sustaining operations while modernization advances.

As the Port of Guam looks ahead to 2026, it does so from a position of readiness and stability, fully aligned with the One Guam framework. Major initiatives are advancing into execution within systems built to manage complexity and sustain performance.

Continuity of leadership principles and governance practices reinforces institutional strength and ensures the Port remains a reliable partner in commerce, national security, and energy resilience as modernization progresses.

Rory Respicio is the general manager of the Port Authority of Guam.

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