LIFE IN THE NEW PHILIPPINES METRO SANTA ROSA Santa Rosa Magazine's SPECIAL FEATURES Section
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BUSINESS SOLUTION TOUTED BY PBSP TO END POVERTY THE COUNTRY'S FIRST AND LARGEST CORPORATE-LED SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION is touting a new platform of collective effort among private sector, government, and other investors and stakeholders as an innovative business solution to eradicate poverty in the country.       The corporate-led Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) dubbed this strategy as "Platforms for Collective Engagements" or PlaCEs, with the aim of scaling up successful private-public partnership (PPP) models primarily in the areas of health, education, livelihood, and the environment.       Rafael C. Lopa, PBSP executive director, said a concrete translation of PlaCEs strategy was already demonstrated in the launch of the Bayanihang Pampaaralan (BP) campaign, a collaboration of PBSP, League of Corporate Foundations (LCF), Philippine Business for Education (PBEd), and other advocates of education reform in the country.       Lopa said this collective effort had set the goal of building 10,000 classrooms nationwide to help bridge the classroom backlog of over 66,000 classrooms of the Department of Education (DepEd).       "It is in these PlaCEs where we hope to mobilize strategic financing from our members and donor agencies that can pave the way to more dynamic and coordinated multi-stakeholders partnerships," Lopa said.       Given the positive response in the education-related PlaCE, the establishment of other PlaCEs is being pursued in the other PBSP focus areas of health, environment protection, and livelihood and jobs generation, Lopa added.       "Beyond our collective action strategy, we will keep on working closely with companies to take social development at the heart of their businesses by integrating core business solutions to development efforts, and providing policy and advocacy platforms for social change," Lopa stressed.       Moreover, he said the PlaCES strategy will underscore efforts to establish PPP models, specifically in the delivery of public services and the development of infrastructure that would spur social development and improve climate change adaptation.       On the recent commemoration of its 41st year, PBSP has further strengthened its efforts with the business sector in reaching out to the country's marginalized sectors.       "To truly effect collective impact, we saw the need to ensure that every program must have a common goal, cohesive strategy, and a uniform parameter that synchronizes all the efforts of the business sector and other development stakeholders. Certainly, the sum is greater than the parts," Lopa said.                                                                          - Joyce Franzly Racoma and Mitch Confesor *** *** MORE AND MORE VOLUNTEERS STEP FORWARD TO HELP SAVE THE MARIKINA WATERSHED Rehabilitating the watershed will mitigate the threat of future flooding. Employee volunteers of Brother International (Philippines) Corporation prepared 20,000 seedlings. BROTHER INTERNATIONAL PHILIPPINES CORPORATION in partnership with the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and Nagkakaisang Samahang Magsasaka sa Barangay Calawis (NASAMASABACA) established a seedling nursery last February 11, 2012 in Sitio Binayoyo, Calawis, Antipolo.       In support to the Save the Marikina Watershed Initiative Program, Brother International employee volunteers prepared a total of 20,000 seedlings to cover five hectares of the upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape. In Photo are Mr. Klaas Oreel, PBSP Chief Executive Advisor (center) and PBSP management.       PBSP has united with Philippine Disaster Recovery Foundation (PDRF) in saving the Marikina Watershed. To rehabilitate the watershed and mitigate the threat of future flooding, PDRF launched a multi-sectoral campaign that aims to reforest additional 34 per cent or 9,520 hectares of the degraded areas.       Since 2010, PBSP has been spearheading the livelihood component of the project by providing income-generating activities to sustain the livelihood of the communities and assure that no economic activities could harm the watershed. Apart from this, PBSP has been tapping its member companies to participate by adopting their own hectare in the watershed.       PBSP member companies who are already part of the Adopt-a-Hectare program include Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., All Transport Network, and Brother International Philippines Corporation.                                                                                                                                   - Joyce Racoma (Photos courtesy of PBSP.) *** *** PBSP Intro      1      2      3      4      5      6      7      8      9      10      11      12      13