Creating a positive environment for host communities
Forging, maintaining, and enhancing mutually beneficial relationships with all of our stakeholders is a core requisite in every single Alsons Power project. We value the partnerships we have built particularly with our neighbors in the communities that host our facilities.
Alsons Power anchors its community relations efforts on three key community needs:
• Education and employment opportunities for the people living in our host communities
• Preservation of the environment
• Community health
Education
One of the flagship programs of Alsons Power community relations is in the area of education – particularly in education infrastructure. To date, more than 30 fully-furnished classrooms, library or laboratory buildings with built-in toilet facilities have been constructed and donated to various public elementary and high schools throughout Zamboanga City and Sarangani Province. All classroom donations come with arm chairs with book trays and the laboratory and library buildings are provided with basic equipment and furniture.
Alsons Power has provided scholarships to over 170 high school scholars and 30 college scholars in Zamboanga City and to more than 260 high school scholars and more than 40 college scholars from Sarangani Province. Aside from scholarships, Alsons Power also sponsors parent and teacher training seminars for its adopted public schools.
In Zamboanga City one of the most recently concluded education infrastructure projects was the construction and handover by the Western Mindanao Power Corporation (WMPC) of a library building to Manicahan National High School and a Home Economics Room with cooking facilities, kitchen utensils, a dining set and a sitting room set for Sangali National High School in late 2011.
The Southern Philippines Power Corporation’s (SPPC) latest education infrastructure accomplishment was the delivery of a fully-furnished classroom building to the Dacera Elementary School in Albael, Sarangani Province last February 2012. SPPC provided 40 school chairs, lights, toilet facilities, and a ceiling fan for the classroom.
(Above) The Western Mindanao Power Corporation (WMPC) undertook the construction and provided for the facilities of The Sanganli National High School’s new Home Economics Room.
(LEFT PHOTO) Engineer Jose Marie T. Torrejon WMPC plant manager (second from the right) and WMPC and Alsons Power CEO Tirso G. Santillan (right) officially turn-over the new facilities to school officials. (RIGHT PHOTO) Governor Dominguez (6th from the right) and Engr. Zamora (5th from the left) pose with SPPC local government, community and school officials in front of the new classroom building of the Dacera Elementary School.
Employment opportunities for people living in our host communities
The Sarangani Energy Corporation (SEC) established the Maasim Technical Vocational Competence Center (MTCC) in Maasim, Sarangani on October of 2010, in keeping with Alsons Power’s commitment to build and enhance the skills and competencies of the residents of our host communities in order to improve their employability.
The Center trains out-of-school youth from Maasim and nearby areas in the areas of welding and fabrication, electrical installation, electrical maintenance, masonry, and plumbing. On February 7, 2012, 93 MTCC students graduated and passed the examinations for National Certification II (NC II) of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
Community health
The Sarangani Energy Corporation (SEC) has undertaken several dental and medical missions covering five barangays in the municipality of Maasim, Sarangani. SEC has likewise provided barangay Kamanga – the SEC plant’s host with a potable water system and a barangay health center.
On May 2012, in cooperation with the municipal and provincial health offices, SEC began conducting circumcision sessions in different barangays throughout Maasim.
Protecting the environment
Alsons Power and the entire Alcantara Group adhere to the principle of preserving and enhancing our environment. Most of the people who manage and operate our power plants are residents of, or live within the vicinity of our facilities. As responsible neighbors, we take steps to ensure that our co-residents in the community are able to live in a clean and ecologically safe environment.
The Sarangani Energy Corporation (SEC) is embarking on a watershed preservation and development project that will rehabilitate degraded forest lands in the watersheds of the Seguil and Kamanga rivers – the major watersheds of the SEC plant’s host municipality of Massim, Sarangani. Around 7, 500 hectares will be planted with 42,000 seedlings of fruit trees, agricultural crops and forest tree species. The trees will serve the purposes of protecting the watersheds and absorbing the carbon emissions of the SEC power plant while producing oxygen. The project will also provide livelihood to 500 families belonging to the Blaan and Tboli indigenous communities residing in the watershed areas. The beneficiary families will protect and cultivate the planted seedlings and in turn, they will be able to harvest and market the products of the trees and agricultural crops once they bear fruit.
(Above) Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo plants the first of around 42,000 seedlings that will form part of the Sarangani Energy Company’s (SEC) watershed protection and forest cover project. The project aims to provide forest cover for the areas watersheds, absorb carbon emissions from the SEC Power Plant, and provide livelihood for 500 families from the Blann and Tboli indigenous communities residing in the area. Assisting him is SEC and Alcantara Group Chairman and President Tomas I. Alcantara (in the dark glasses.)
