Ayala businesses with a heart

I just arrived from Dumaguete where the next much- awaited event (after the Silliman Founders Day celebration) would be the visit of President Rodrigo Duterte. His intelligence men must have informed him of the low turnout of drug user /pusher surrenderees in the city. The Aug. 28 issue of The Negros Chronicle reports that Dumaguete is among the lowest in terms of people responding to the call for self-confession if not admission in the use of prohibited drugs. As of last count by the police, Dumaguete only turned in 622 users and 58 selfconfessed drug pushers. It is estimated that the city’s barangays have no less than 5,000 drug users and no less than 150 drug pushers. Contrast these figures with those of the neighbor small town of Sibulan which turned out 1,029 users and eight pushers.

According to the Chronicle, all over Negros Oriental, there have been 1,875 surrenderees as of Aug. 12, of them 509 pushers and 10,458 self-confessed users. No charges have been filed, but “recidivists will have no mercy, according to the police.”

Will the president hit the roof for the low turn-out of drug users in this once “city of gentle people”?

* * * In his first privilege speech in the House, Rep. Christopher de Venecia called for a parallel national effort to work on the prevention of drug use, rehabilitation of drug addicts, and a reintegration program for reformed drug abusers. He said there must be cooperation among barangays, the health sector, the church, academe, civil society and mass media in “filling in the gaps in the current drug campaign.”

The gap refers to the sore lack in drug rehabilitation centers for surrenderees. The Philippine National Police ( PNP) has reported that more than 65,000 drug users and pushers have surrendered thus far. “But there are only 20 existing drug rehabilitation centers with a capacity to treat a measly 5,000 inmates,” Rep. de Venecia said. “Our penitentiary system is no good either, with extreme overcrowding as the number one problem.”

“The drug problem is a cause for concern because it directly endangers the millennials,” he said. “According to the Dangerous Drugs Board, the mean age of drug dependents in this country is 20 to 29 years old.”

“This serves as an ominous warning to us all – that if we cannot eradicate the drug problem in our country, it certainly is just a matter of time, before it wipes out an entire generation and our prospect as a nation.”

De Venecia, 29, a millennial himself, has filed two bills: “An Act Providing for the Prevention of Drug Use among High Risk Individuals and for the Rehabilitation

of Drug Users,” and “An Act Providing for the Social Reintegration and Monitoring of Rehabilitated Individuals.”

* * * Ayala Corp. is one of the largest conglomerates in the Philippines with businesses in real estate, financial services, telecommunications, water, electronics manufacturing services, automotive, power generation, and transport infrastructure. It follows that it has vast financial resources, with its owners and executives running its affairs plucked from the best and brightest men and women. The public thus looks at the corporation as an unstoppable, giant profit-maker.

But the corporation eases its profitmaking image with its corporate social responsibility projects through pioneering corporate foundations that develop, implement and sustain programs in various fields of social and cultural development with the aim of improving the lives of Filipinos nationwide. This practice Ayala executives calls bringing “heart” to Ayala businesses.

* * * It must be noted that the programs do not come free. The health, education and livelihood programs are offered at relatively lower costs. They are “marketing challenges,” as Ayala Corp’s public relations head Yla Alcantara puts it. “At Ayala we market challenges as opportunities. We enter new spaces where it makes good business sense for us to invest, and respond to market needs and demands.”

Ayala, she said, scales “new spaces” because “we are committed to helping improve the lives of Filipinos in communities where we serve.”

In the area of health, a wholly owned subsidiary, Ayala Healthcare Holdings Inc. (Ayala Health), makes health care more accessible and affordable. It invested in Generika Drugstore, a nationwide chain of retail pharmacies. “We feel strongly about the need to provide more affordable medicine to all Filipinos,” said Ayala health chief executive officer Paolo Borromeo. With cheaper, but quality medicine, patients save as much as 85 percent.

The Ayala Group has partnered with the Mercado General Hospital group to manage Qualimed, a chain of multispecialty clinics, two ambulatory surgical centers and three full-service hospitals. The partnership just opened a 105-bed Qualimed General hospital in San Jose del Monte. It envisions to open 10 clinics and 10 hospitals by 2020.

Another partnership was made with Globe Telecom and a Mexican partner to develop “Konsulta- MD” which allows members to consult licensed doctors through their mobile and landline phones. Konsulta-MD has some 80,000 members.

Another investment is FamilyDOC,

opened in 2015, which now operates its first two clinics in Las Pinas and Imus, Cavite. Located within barangays, these have served over 6,000 patients. FamilyDOC is a three-in-one primary care facility, with diagnostic facility and a pharmacy. Its services include minor surgical procedures, a tertiary laboratory, x-ray, ultrasound, and ECG. Consultation is P350, including a free follow-up consultation for a week.

The two clinics, open Monday-Saturday, 7 a.m. 1 p.m., are each manned by two family health practitioners, three nurses, and a pharmacist. Pre-natal consultation is offered, but deliveries and serious cases are referred to tertiary hospitals. Envisioned is growing the business to 100 clinics in the National Capital Region.

“People who were not able to get checkups as they live far from hospitals, now have a clinic within their barangay,” said Dr. Michael Santos, medical director of Ayala Health who directly manages FamilyDOC. “They can buy medicine, have laboratory tests and x-ray in just one place.” Consultation fee is P350, with free follow-up consultation for a week.

* * * Another area Ayala corporation is seriously involved in education. It has funded Center of Excellence in Public Elementary Education (CENTEX) which offers at minimum tuition quality education for bright children from economically disadvantaged families. It currently operates two public schools – one in Tondo, Manila and another in Bauan, Batangas. Since its inception in 1998, CENTEX has helped over 1,300 students to graduate.

In 2013, Affordable Private Education Centers ( APEC) Schools, a chain of 27 low-cost high schools in Manila. In 2015, it acquired a majority interest in University of Nueva Caceres in the Bicol region.

The schools were organized before the K-12 program was launched. Beth Lui, APEC CEO, says an APEC education prepares its students to find jobs at higher than the minimum salaries of employees.