AS A general rule, consumers benefit when companies compete to provide better and cheaper services to the market. However, in the case of local calamities—like the Habagat and Tropical Storm Maring—induced rains and flooding of the last three days—the familiar competition among the country’s biggest corporations is also proving to be a boon to the…
The private sector led by businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan yesterday started pitching in with donations and services in areas affected by the heavy monsoon rains. Pangilinan led the employees of the MVP Group of Companies in the “Tulong Kapatid” drive in distributing relief goods to flood victims in Metro Manila and Cavite. Pangilinan called for more volunteers to join and help the affected families now staying in evacuation centers. “We have taken it upon ourselves to help the needy in times of disaster, a practice embedded in our culture of responsibility,” he stressed. “We started mobilizing our resources for the victims of Tropical Storm Maring yesterday, and we will continue with the distribution of relief goods as well as other donations for as long as our means allow us.” Pangilinan, chairman the Board of Trustees of the Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation (PDRF), visited the affected families in the citiesof Mandaluyong, Taguig, and Paranaque, and the nearby province of Cavite. He was accompanied by Michael Toledo, senior vice president for corporate affairs at Philex Mining Corp., and other officials of the MVP Group. Toledo said the visit to the different evacuation centers was done after One Meralco Foundation, Inc., the development arm of Manila Electric Co., prepared at least 3,000 bags of relief goods, basic food, water, hygiene kit fordeployment and the TV5’s Alagang Kapatid Foundation sent two truckloads of goods to Cavite and Laguna, respectively.
Brother International Philippines Corp. recently joined the Philippine Business for Social Progress and Project Dimension Boracay, a multisectoral initiative to help the Atis of Boracay island. Brother shared its expertise in skills (sewing) and life skills (financial literacy) training and provided sewing machines and related equipment. Brother started with the sewing machine business more than…
The sustainable waste reduction efforts by cement manufacturer CEMEX Philippines at its APO Plant in Cebu did not go unnoticed by the Zero Basura Olympics for Business. CEMEX took home the ‘Grandmaster’ Award during the awarding ceremonies held recently at The Bay Leaf inIntramuros. In particular, CEMEX was recognized for its solid waste management program…
Accenture recently announced it has exceeded its original Skills to Succeed goal of equipping 250,000 people around the world by 2015 with the skills to get a jobor build a business. As a result and to increase its impact in communities worldwide the company has set a higher goal: by 2015, itwill equip 500,000 people globally with these workplace and entrepreneurial skills.The company surpassed its original goal, which it set in2010, by working with global and local nonprofit partners that deliver measurable employment and entrepreneurship outcomes at scale. Accenture has already equipped more than 320,000 people with skills that enable them to participate in and contribute to the economy.”Skills are a key driver of economic empowerment leading to greater innovation, increased competitiveness and rising standards of living in both mature and emerging markets,” said Pierre Nanterme, Accenture’s chairman & CEO. “Through Skills to Succeed, our people are inspired to put their skills and interests to work, creating sustained impact in communities around the world.
Asean conglomerate SCG recently announced the new batch of cholars of its 6th SCG Sharing the Dream scholarship program to continue enabling the Filipino youth in pursuing their dreams. In partnership with the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), SCG Sharing the Dream program aims to provide financial and material assistance to incoming 1st to…
PHILIPPINE BUSINESS for Social Progress (PBSP) Executive Director Rafael Lopa says that 10 peso coins and the spirit of “bayanihan” would help Bayug Elementary School rise again after the Typhoon Sendong. Mr. Lopa invite Filipinos to take part inThe Entire Nation Moves (TENMoves!) campaign, a social mobilization initiative to build 10,000 classrooms all over the…
Recognizing the important role of Civil Society Organizations in ensuring a transparent and more effective implementation of its programs and services, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)continues to strengthen its partnership with civil society organizations (CSOs). The DSWD organized a three-day Visayas Cluster Consultation with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Cebu City to discuss the status of current engagements of the CSOs in the different programs of the Department. The activity also sought to generate recommendations from the CSOs in the operations of DSWD core poverty programs, including policy-making, implementation, capacity building and monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. It was attended by some 110 participants from Regions VI, VII and VIII. “We would like to come-up with plans to further strengthen existing levels of partnership with our partner CSOs,” Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman said. Secretary Soliman added that the CSOs and volunteer partners serve as the ‘third eye’ of the DSWD.
CDO Foodsphere, Inc. (CDO) and CDO’s corporate social responsibility arm, the Odyssey Foundation, Inc. (OFI) in partnership with the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), recently conducted the Almusalang Bayan Year 3 Supplemental Feeding Program graduation. The feeding project aims to reduce malnutrition among children aged two to six. In photo with some of the…
CEBU, Philippines – Stakeholders from both the government and private sector urge companies to actively participate in the German-funded program that aims to partner with communities from the grassroots level rather than just staying stuck with the traditional approach of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Launched in 2004, the Strategic Corporate-Community Partnership (Scope) is a program that is jointly developed by the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. It is an innovative business approach which addresses the needs of companies by working along the value chain and engaging communities as suppliers of semi-processed materials or skilled labor. PBSP Visayas Executive Committee Vice Chairperson Philip Tan urged more companies to adopt the SCOPE program and promote social consciousness within their businesses. “We encourage them to come out and apply. It’s time to be more open-minded with other possibilities of helping poor communities rather than just the usual CSR approach. With Scope, you empower them to become reliable economic players while achieving your business goals at the same time,” he said.
L’Oreal recently celebrated their “Citizen Day”, an annual worldwide event wherein employees participate in outreach activities with their chosen partner organizations. Together with Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), 120 employee volunteers of L’Oreal Philippines participated in a tree planting activity at a barangay in Rodriguez, Montalban, Rizal. L’Oreal adopted five hectares of land in…
Every child has the right to receive proper nutrition but factors like economic stability sometimes prevent a child to obtain this right, and they become malnourished. With this concern in mind, private corporations and NGO groups have been doing their share in eradicating malnutrition through various programs that focus on child health and nutrition. CDO…
Photo shows (from L-R): Roy Taala, Managing Director , Accenture; Rafael Lopa, Executive Director, PBSP; and Manolito Tayag, Country Managing Director, Accenture. In line with corporate firms’ social awareness and development projects integrated into their core businesses, Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and Accenture in the Philippines recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement…
MANILA, Philippines – In this light, the companies owned by Manny V. Pangilinan, who had been doing various CSR projects individually, decided to unite under the banner of Tulong Kapatid, which has become the corporate social responsibility and disaster response initiative of the MVP Group of Companies.
“In any disaster, all utilities are affected,” points out Esther Santos, president of the PLDT Smart Foundation. With companies that provide basic services – like telecommunications, water, and electricity – it made sense to join forces to enable better coordination.
“Our ability to help has multiplied,” says Jeffrey Tarayao, president of One Meralco Foundation. Because of Tulong Kapatid, he adds, “We coordinate faster. The strength of each company is maximized. We are able to utilize our core competencies and help with high confidence.”
Tulong Kapatid first made its impact with a telethon on Dec. 10 last year to raise funds for the victims of Typhoon Pablo. Though the telethon was organized in only 24 hours, the collective efforts of Tulong Kapatid companies raised over P100 million in just six hours.
Student survivors of Typhoon Sendong have more reasons to rejoice. On Friday, May 24, 2013, officials and representatives from CLSA Chairman’s Trust and TEN Moves! formally handed over a two-storey, four classroom-building at Angelico J. Medina Memorial Elementary School, which serves the educational requirements of children in Barangay Sta. Elena, Iligan City. The newly completed…
The private sector needs to reexamine its corporate-social responsibility (CSR) programs and redevelop models for inclusive growth that go beyond corporate philanthropy, Rafael Lopa, executive director of Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), said. Speaking during a symposium dubbed, “Step forward into higher gear,” at a hotel in Makati City on Friday, Lopa said the…
A national convention on mining, with the theme “Mining Philippines 2012,” will be held from September 18 to 20 and is expected to gather hundreds of officials representing the local and foreign industry leaders.
It will be the first convention to be held after the signing by President Aquino in July of Executive Order 79, the new mining policy.
Organized by the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (CMP), the convention expects the attendance of foreign CEOs, their Asean counterparts and investors from Australia, Canada, China, India and Japan, as well those from the emerging economies, investment houses and financial intermediaries, mining specialists and other stakeholders who are keenly following the mining industry’s development in the Philippines.
The monsoon season has begun and floods and landslides are once again making headlines. For many schools in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, the after-effects of the devastation caused by Tropical storm Sendong are still evident. In support of DepEd’s goal to restore normal operations in the affected schools, the Australian Agency for International Development…
It was believed to be extinct because of massive deforestation in Cebu. But in 1998, bird ecologists rediscovered the existence of hawk owls in the small patches of forests in the town of Alcoy in the southern part of the island.
On Aug. 17, the Cebu Hawk Owl (Ninox rumseyi) was formally introduced to the world. It joins two other endemic bird species-the Cebu Flowerpecker (Dicaeum quadricolor) and the Cebu Black Shama (Copsychus cebuensis).
“The Cebu Hawk Owl might be critically endangered. The discovery tells us that we really have to go to the islands and implement separate conservation efforts because each island has its own endemism,” said Filipino bird ecologist Lisa Marie Paguntalan.
“Each island has its own provincial treasures which people should be proud of and take good care of,” she added.
The Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and Philam Foundation recently signed a memorandum of agreement for the 11th and final year of the Aid for Basilan Children (ABC) Project.
The now more than a decade-old partnership between the largest corporate-led foundation and the leading life insurance company in the Philippines aims to support the education of less-fortunate children in the Basilan Island.
