MPower outdid itself once again when it held its annual CommuniTrees program in Los Baños, Laguna last December 7, 2019. In celebrating MPower CommuniTrees’ 5
th year, partner volunteers planted 500 Narra and 500 assorted fruit-bearing seedlings or a total of 1,000 seedlings at the Boy Scouts of the Philippines Compound in Los Baños, Laguna. This year, aside from bringing together its partners and Vantage Energy Solutions and Management, Inc. (Vantage Energy) to take on this noble tree planting activity, MPower took a step further by teaming up with the One Meralco Foundation (OMF). OMF has just recently launched the program, OneForTrees to promote its vision to have a more sustainable and greener future through nurturing the environment one community at a time. OMF’s goal of planting 3 million trees by 2025 served as a catalyst in the establishment of the partnership between OneForTrees and CommuniTrees in our shared pursuit of environmental sustainability.
Our impact in the communities we serve emanates brighter as we continue to grow exponentially. The number of participants doubled from last year’s 13 to 27 companies this year with approximately 170 partner volunteers. Among those who joined us in this event were Ms. Evangeline Ang, President of Pioneer Highlands South Condominium, Ms. Ressie Santiago, General Manager of Best Chemicals & Plastics, Ms. Richelle Gamet, Country Manager of Glades International, Mr. Edmundo Caiga, Deputy Director of Yazaki-Torres Manufacturing, Mr. Joselito Villadolid, President of ROHM Realty Corporation, and Ms. Anne Cordero, Manager and Head of Human Resources & Organization Development Department of ON Semiconductor Philippines. JX Nippon Mining & Metals was represented by their President, Mr. Masafumi Ishii and Atty. Delia Uy, Vice-President and General Manager for Legal & Business Administration who has been supportive of CommuniTrees since 2016.
Before the program officially began, the volunteers were given their official tree planting shirts and were offered sandwiches and coffee to kickstart their day. Gleeful smiles were seen and loud cheers were heard from the volunteers as host and Strategic Account Manager, Ms. Katrina Royo, welcomed each company with much enthusiasm. MPower SAVP and Retail Sales Head, Mr. Emmanuel De Ramos gave his opening remarks wherein he reiterated the One Meralco sustainability agenda and mentioned that by the end of the day, CommuniTrees volunteers will have already planted 4,550 seedlings together since its conception in 2015.
Thereafter, volunteers enjoyed a short Zumba session led by Strategic Account Managers, Franklin Esteban and Rolando Abrojena, together with some notable executives as a warm-up before the actual planting. Ms. Fatima Romaguera, a forester from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (DENR-PENRO) of Laguna, briefed volunteers on the proper planting guidelines. That day, 500 Narra seedlings and 500 assorted fruit-bearing seedlings were planted with the hopes that surrounding communities reap greatly from what was earnestly sown.
CommuniTrees is one of the ways we demonstrate a partnership that goes beyond the contract – an avenue to display our commitment to grow together by engaging in endeavors beyond the business.
