ELEVEN business units of the Aboitiz Group and its social development arm, Aboitiz Foundation, recently received recognition from the Department of Education (DepEd) for their contribution to the improvement of the country’s public education system.
DepEd Secretary Armin Luistro awarded Certificates of Appreciation to the foundation and business units AboitizLand; City Savings Bank; Cotabato Light and Power Company; Davao Light and Power Company; Hedcor, Inc. – Benguet; Hedcor, Inc. – Davao; Hedcor Sibulan, Inc.; Luzon Hydro Corp.; Pilmico Animal Nutrition Corp.; Pilmico Foods Corp.; and Visayan Electric Co. during its annual partners’ appreciation program held last week.
The awards follow the agency’s pronouncement that Aboitiz is, by far, its biggest and long-standing contributor, which extends assistance from kindergarten to college, even going beyond graduation.
Since 2007, the Aboitiz Group has been actively supporting the Adopt-a-School Program — a government initiative that encourages participation of the private sector in addressing resource needs of schools to improve the quality of learning.
“We firmly believe that education is where we can make the greatest impact and we continue to advance our efforts to help improve it in our country,” Aboitiz Foundation Chairman Erramon Aboitiz said.
He stressed that Aboitiz is committed to help make all Filipino children lifelong learners, that is why a chunk of the group’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) budget is allocated to education initiatives. Last year, it spent P437 million – the biggest so far – to deliver on this promise.
Under its “Education for a Better World” campaign, the group develops special science elementary schools and technical-vocational high schools, constructs kindergarten classrooms in partnership with non-profit organization Aklat, Gabay, Aruga tungo sa Pag-angat at Pag-asa or AGAPP, repairs and constructs regular classrooms, supports teacher skills training, and grants scholarship and financial assistance to deserving students.
Established in 1988, the Aboitiz Foundation continues to pursue its mission to help people help themselves through CSR interventions especially in communities where Aboitiz companies operate. The foundation focuses its efforts on education, enterprise development, environment, and health and well-being, but also carries out projects on disaster preparedness and response.