Aboitiz Foundation Reiterates Commitment to PH Education Reforms

Aboitiz Foundation, Inc., the social development arm of the Aboitiz Group, vowed to continuously prioritize the implementation of initiatives aimed at developing the country’s educations system during the recently concluded Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Expo 2013 held at the SMX Convention Center.

In its exhibit, the Aboitiz Foundation recreated a classroom to showcase its infrastructure building initiative that provides students, particularly in its host communities, a more conducive learning environment.

“The foundation maintains its priority programs in infrastructure building, scholarship programs, and asset donations. Every year, the biggest chunk of our budget is allocated to education-related initiatives,” stressed Aboitiz Foundation Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Sonny Carpio who is also the Chairman of the League of Corporate Foundations (LCF), the event’s organizer.

In 2012, the foundation spent Php219 million or 54% of its total budget allocation for education-related initiatives such as build and repair of schools and laboratories; donation of books, computers, and other
equipment, and funding of scholarships.

Majority of the programs during the previous year was directed to beneficiaries in the Visayas region, where Aboitiz Foundation used to have its headquarters before it moved to Taguig, Metro Manila early this year.

Under the infrastructure building program, the foundation donated a total of 103 standard classrooms to various schools nationwide last year. Its partnership with the Aklat, Gabay, Aruga Tungo sa Pag-angat at Pag-asa (AGAPP) Foundation – a group that advocates literacy development and early childhood care and development – paved the way for the construction of 42 more AGAPP Silid Pangarap classrooms.

Since the partnership with AGAPP started in 2011, Aboitiz Foundation has turned over a total of 134 Silid Pangarap classrooms or 67 school buildings.

To date, the foundation has reached out to some 50,000 students across the country with 597 classrooms. These facilities are complete with tools and equipment such as desks, blackboards, and fixtures, that will help improve the students’ academic performance.

Other initiatives

Mr. Carpio noted that the foundation is also actively encouraging learning in Science, Language and Computer subjects through the donation of science laboratories complete with equipment and speech laboratories, and the refurbishment of computer laboratories and stipend support to Information Technology teachers.

Last year, the foundation, through the help of the Aboitiz companies, donated a total of 150 computer units to various public schools in 11 provinces nationwide under its Integrated Computerization program.

Aboitiz Foundation also provides beneficiary schools a system called ‘Thin Client,’ which links the schools’ computers to a central server that gives them higher storage and reduces maintenance costs. In 2012, 15 public schools received a combined 178 of the said system.

Running for seven years now is the Library Kit project where the foundation donates books and other reference materials like almanac, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and TV sets to beneficiary schools.

Apart from the donation of physical items, Aboitiz Foundation, through its scholarship programs, has also given a total of 2,809 students access to quality education. Of the total, 250 are pre-school students; 208, elementary; 1,652, secondary; 295, tertiary; 61, post-graduate; 323, vocational, and 20, special needs.