Over 1,500 Aboitiz team members head ‘ back to school’ for Brigada Eskwela
Total beneficiaries to exceed 20,000 students nationwide
THE Aboitiz Group heeded the government’s call for volunteers and rallied over 1,500 team members nationwide from 24 business units (BUs) for its annual group- wide Brigada Eskwela activity this year.
In Cebu City, 124 employees and executives were joined by 41 volunteers from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the local government to repaint classrooms and chairs at the Mabolo Elementary School.
About 20 kilometers north, at the public elementary school in the mountain barangay of Guba, 102 employees of the Visayan Electric Company conducted a separate Brigada Eskwela.
More than a hundred employees of AboitizPower subsidiary Therma Visayas, Inc., on the other hand, repainted school buildings and chairs of the Bato Elementary School and Awihao National High School so students can concentrate on their lessons when school opens in June.
In San Carlos City in Negros Occidental, AboitizPower subsidiary San Carlos Sun Power Inc. (SACASUN) helped teachers and parents of Talave Elementary School in Barangay Punao repaint classrooms, desks and plant boxes.
In Manila, a total of 318 volunteers from different Aboitiz business units repainted classrooms, blackboards, desks, and armchairs at Upper Bicutan and Ricardo P. Cruz, Sr. Elementary Schools in Taguig City. They were also joined by several Aboitiz scholars and Aboitiz Future Leaders Business Summit alumni.
The Manila volunteers were also joined by 123, 514, and 532 volunteers from other Luzon-, Visayas-, and Mindanao-based BUs, respectively. This constituted the first wave of Aboitiz Brigada Eskwela activities, with more to be undertaken by other BUs in the next few weeks.
Participating BUs this year included Aboitiz Equity Ventures ( AEV), Aboitiz Foundation, AboitizPower, BEZ (Balamban EnerZone), Cotabato Light, CitySavings, Davao Light, EAUC (East Asia Utilities Corporation), Hedcor, LEZ (LiMA EnerZone), LHC (Luzon Hydro Corporation), MEZ (Mactan EnerZone), PETNET, Pilmico, SacaSun, SEZ (Subic EnerZone), SN Aboitiz Power, TLI (Therma Luzon, Inc.), TMI (Therma Marine, Inc.), TMO (Therma Mobile, Inc.), TSI (Therma South, Inc.), TVI, WeatherPhilippines, and VECO.
Total beneficiaries of this year’s Aboitiz Brigada Eskwela are expected to exceed 20,000 students nationwide.
“Brigada Eskwela is a major part of the Aboitiz Group’s annual team member engagement program and is likewise an embodiment of our Group Purpose: to drive change for a better world. We have always stood firm in our belief that it is in our schools that we can make a big difference in the lives of many,” Erramon I. Aboitiz, AEV President and Chief Executive Officer said.
“We ultimately do our part in co-creating safe, empowered and sustainable communities by providing students with an environment that not only provides safe and well-maintained classrooms but also fosters lifelong learning,” Aboitiz said.
Brigada Eskwela is the Department of Education’s annual classroom rehabilitation program conducted in public schools nationwide. The Aboitiz Group, recognized in 2015 by DepEd as the Philippine’s biggest contributor to public education, has l ong been an active supporter and participant of this activity as part of the Group’s team member engagement programs since 2008./