BBFI Donates P32M Worth of Books in 2007

More than fifty organizations and institutions received over Php 32 Million worth of educational materials in 2007 through the Bato Balani Foundation’s Tulong Sa Paaralan, Tulay sa Kaunlaran program (TSP-TSK).

Since 1993, TSP-TSK has been providing deserving schools and communities nationwide with access to quality textbooks, educational materials and multimedia programs and content. Beneficiaries include public schools, NGO’s, local government units and corporate foundations with adopted schools, communities or reading programs. Partner organizations who are provided materials by the foundation usually distribute the materials to their own adopted schools and communities, providing a wider reach to deserving schools and students.

How to Change the World

[Cross-post from Brain Drain.]

At a time when corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship and private philanthropy have moved front and center in the public consciousness, David Bornstein has put together a valuable resource by way of his book, How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurship and the Power of New Ideas.

Second Thoughts: Necessary, not Sufficient

Leave it to seasoned educator and former DepEd Secretary Edilberto de Jesus to pen an article that hits two birds with one stone.

In his February 18, 2008 OpEd column for the Manila Bulletin, de Jesus wrote about the 1000 Teachers Program launched by Philippine Business for Education and also touched on the prevailing scandals of government corruption that have made front page news of late. The ingenious element of the piece lies in his argument that the two are related: precisely because there are inefficiencies in and leakages from government funds, education does not get properly financed. It is for this reason that private groups such as PBEd have to step in, despite the fact that their philanthropic contributions pale in comparison to the amounts budgeted from government coffers.

In this regard, de Jesus makes the sobering argument that generating enough funds is a necessary but not sufficient condition to improving education in the country; of even greater import is putting what funds are available to good use.

For all its simplicity, de Jesus offers a thoroughly engaging take on the issue that makes for worthwhile reading.

On Civil Society-Government Relations

For her February 13, 2008 column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Rina Jimenez-David has written an insightful piece on the matter of NGO certification in the Philippines in the wake of Executive Order 671 (EO671). At issue is the fact that E0671 effectively removes private sector involvement in NGO accreditation in the country, contrary to long standing practice that has, for the most part, been a sterling example of public-private sector partnership.

The OpEd article cuts to the quick, with Jimenez-David asking the question “Is this any way to treat a partner?” In all, it is thought-provoking material that should be of interest to anyone concerned about civil society, corporate social responsibility and social entrepreneurship in the Philippines.

[Rina Jimenez David: Is this any way to treat a partner? (via the Philippine Daily Inquirer)]

PBEd’s 1000 Teachers Program

Philippine Business for Education (PBEd), the Philippine business community’s response to the need for consensus and sustained advocacy in education reform, will be launching the 1000 Teachers Program this Friday, 25 January 2008 at the Power Plant Mall in Rockwell Center.

The 1,000 Teachers Campaign being pushed by Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) aims to strongly counter the “titser lang” image of our educators despite the essential role they play in molding the minds and hearts of millions of young Filipinos. [PBEd] shall mobilize media to raise the image of the teacher and inspire the best and the brightest students to become teachers through scholarships and allowances made possible by a partnership of the business community with leading teacher training academic institutions.

To learn more about about this initiative to restore the place of our teachers in nation-building, please contact Peter Perfecto (pvperfecto[at]phinma.com.ph). More information regarding the Bato Balani Foundation’s participation in this endeavor is also available through Ching Jorge (chingjorge[at]gmail.com).

CSR Expo ‘07: Day 3 Recap

The last day of the Expo focused on a new LCF program for CSR: protecting the environment. Although environmental programs have always been prominent in the activities of a majority of the LCF members, it has been given special focus this year because of the growing concern over the impact that globalization has on the environment. Featured activities and presentations for the day were composed of the following:

A plenary session on the successful blend of nature and tourism with Verde Island being the primary case. Located in Batangas and rich in natural resources, the Verde Island Resort development was created to complement the surrounding nature. In turn, it has been tagged as the “The Center of the World’s Biodiversity”.

Break out sessions that featured “How to’s” on developing environmental programs through success stories. A forum on proper waste management provided companies with alternatives to recycling and diverting waste with emphasis on the need to create proper waste disposal measures as part of doing business. Chit Juan, President of Figaro Coffee Company and the Figaro Foundation likewise presented their company’s vision for protecting the environment. Other break-out sessions were more specific in terms of their focus such as water preservation and protection, supply chain management, urban planning and the environment, and clean air.

A special Green Lunch fundraising activity for the LCF’s Green Fund. Former DENR Secretary Elisea Gozun moderated this lunch plenary, which featured an eye-opening Philippine perspective on the film An Inconvenient Truth, presented by the World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines.

The closing plenary and wrap-up session led by LCF Chair Roberto Calingo, with the Figaro Foundation’s Chit Juan providing the integration for the final day’s activities.

The much awaited yearly raffle for LCF members and guests of course!

Links:
[Day 1 Recap]
[Day 2 Recap]

CSR Expo ‘07: Day 2 Recap

Compared to the first-day’s CEO focus, the second day of the 2007 CSR Expo was more hands-on with more intimate break-out sessions delving even deeper into the nuts and bolts of CSR practice. As many of these were occurring simultaneously (with only so many of us to go around!), here’s a look at what transpired during day two from a uniquely BBFI perspective:

Sustainability reporting over breakfast: GRI’s Ralph Thrum returned to give a more detailed presentation on sustainability reporting, while Anne Copeland Chiu delivered a complementary perspective on the IFC’s implementation of the GRI approach.

The LCF’s newly launched CSR Institute of the Philippines held its first activity by way of a session on CSR Theory and Practice, which featured a tag-team presentation by LCF President Bobby Calingo, Sarmiento Foundation President Lydia Sarmiento and Bato Balani Foundation’s Director for Research Ching Jorge.

Ayala Foundation Chairman Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala offered his perspectives on creating a corporate social vision during the much-anticipated luncheon plenary.

Afternoon breakout sessions helped give participants a better understanding of the LCF’s new 57-75 Campaign to Reverse the Crisis in Education. Of particular interest was the “retrofitting” exercise chaired by the ABS-CBN Foundation’s Gerry de Asis, which featured case studies of the Petron Foundation’s Tulong-Aral program and the Ortigas Foundation’s similar endeavors. The case studies highlighted how both initiatives adapted and changed in order to become more effective at achieving their desired goals.

An education-oriented breakout session on consortium building featured ICT initiatives whose public, private and community partnerships have a large part to play in their past/present/forthcoming success: Gilas, AMORE and the Cyber Ed initiative of DepEd

With so many students dropping by, there was no better time for the Coke Barkada’s festive RockEd Night.

Links:
[Day 1 Recap]
[Day 3 Recap]

CSR Expo ‘07: Day 1 Recap

The League of Corporate Foundations was “all-systems-go” and hit the ground running for the CSR Expo 2007 at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza.

For those unable to attend, here’s a back-of-the-envelope rundown of the first day’s highlights:

The LCF turned over their CSR Roadmaps for Education and the Environment to Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who in her keynote address emphasized the importance of environmental issues to her administration and recognized the LCF’s education-oriented efforts in improving the state of Philippine education.

Chris Thomas, the World Bank’s Sector Manager for Education in East Asia and the Asia Pacific, stressed the developmental benefits for investing in education and identified the Philippines’ key challenge in this regard as improving secondary school enrollment rates. From a Philippine perspective, DepEd Secretary Jesli Lapus offered a survey of successful public and private sector partnerships for education and zeroed in on the need to bring such efforts to scale, using the Department’s Cyber Ed initiative as an example of a means to do so.

In keeping with the spirit of the CSR Roadmap for the Environment, former DENR Secretary Elisea Gozun spoke on the country’s pressing environmental concerns: while the Philippines is considered among the megadiverse areas of the world, it remains one of the hotspots for habitat destruction globally. She emphasized, however, that great strides have already been made with private-sector and community-based support, as evinced by successful reforestation projects across the country. Further, the former Environment Secretary opined that the key to sustaining these efforts lies in further educating the public about environmental issues.

Juan Miguel Luz, President of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction, chaired a plenary session on Strategic CSR, with PLDT-Smart Foundation Chairman Manuel Pangilinan, Ambassador to the UK and former DTI Secretary Cesar Bautista, and Pilipinas Shell Foundation Chairman Edgar Chua as discussants. Mr. Pangilinan discussed how the PLDT-SMART Foundation supports microentrepreneurs in a manner that complements the business strategies of its mother companies. Amb. Bautista made the case for CSR from the standpoint of Global Competitiveness and as a means of complementing government-oriented economic reforms. Mr. Chua’s insights, from a European company perspective, centered on integrating CSR into the DNA of a company.

On behalf of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), Philippine Ambassador to the United States Albert del Rosario presented the MAP’s forthcoming Recognition Program for Responsible Business, which hopes to have its first batch of honorees in a year’s time.

Petron President Khalid Al-Faddagh presented the Guimaras case as an example of Stakeholder Engagement during an afternoon plenary session.

Sarmiento Foundation President Lydia Sarmiento presided over the launch of the CSR Institute of the Philippines, the LCF’s flagship program. Discussions followed during the same session: De La Salle University Professor Ben Teehankee elucidated on the academe’s interest in CSR as a field of study, while presentations on sustainability reporting were made by Ralph Thrum, Chief Operating Officer of the Global Reporting Initiative, and Anne Copeland Chiu of the International Finance Corporation. These sessions were moderated by BBFI’s own Ching Jorge in her capacity as LCF Chair for Research.

Links:
[Day 2 Recap]
[Day 3 Recap]

BBFI @ CSR Expo 2007!

The Bato Balani Foundation will be an exhibitor in the 2007 Corporate Social Responsibility Expo (CSR Expo) this July 16-18, 2007 at the Sofitel (formerly Westin) Philippine Plaza .

The annual CSR Expo, an undertaking of the over 80-member strong League of Corporate Foundations (LCF), began as a showcase of members’ efforts in corporate philanthropy and has grown into a venue for engendering greater awareness of and interest in CSR. Last year’s Expo — which saw the unveiling of the LCF’s Roadmap for Education — echoed the LCF’s rallying cry of “Let’s Take CSR to Heart.” The 2007 Expo takes a further step in this direction with the theme “Putting CSR to the Test: Cultivating Shared Values for Business and Society.”

Aside from participating members’ exhibits, the 2007 CSR Expo will also feature plenary sessions with the leading voices of Philippine corporate social responsibility as well as the launch of the Corporate Social Responsibility Institute and its CSR101 campaign, the LCF’s new flagship program.

With preparations for the event already underway, the BBFI staff have been working doubly hard to help make this year’s Expo a success.

[The 2007 CSR Expo (League of Corporate Foundations)]