Motoring journalists fete automakers for successful CSR projects
SINCE the invention of automobiles, motoring journalists have chronicled the rise and evolution of these ingenious innovations in human mobility.
Early motoring newspapers and magazines were dedicated to showcasing the latest car brands and models as well as the lifestyle that grew around it. From there on, motoring journalism evolved from being an exponent of motoring industry to being the consumers’ advocate, providing prospective buyers with reliable information they need to make an informed choice when buying a car.
Wi th the advent of corporate social responsibility, motoring journalists also began featuring CSR projects in the motoring industry. These CSR projects soon became measure of product/ service quality as well as corporate integrity.
To shed a better light on automotive companies in the Philippines that are being good by doing good, the Society of Philippne Motoring Journalists ( SPMJ), a nonstock, non-profit organization composed of top- notch print, TV, radio and online motoring journalists, took the initiative of creating the first-ever award-giving event for the best CSR projects in the motoring industry — the SPMJ Driven to Serve CSR Awards.
SPMJ was founded in 2002 by Ray Butch Gamboa, chairman and CEO of Sunshine Television, the company behind longrunning motoring programs Auto Focus and Motoring Today. The organization was founded with the advocacy of promoting road safety in the Philippines.
SELECTING THE BEST PROJECTS
To help facilitate the submission of entries, the SPMJ Driven to Serve Awards organizing committee created four distinct categories for submission of CSR projects based on the nature, namely Road Safety, Education, Environment and Community Development.
A total of 13 automakers and distributors participated in the awards’ selection process by submitting their respective CSR projects for nomination, namely Asian Carmakers Corp.; Autohub Group; Bermaz Auto Philippines; Columbia Autocar Corp.; Chevrolet Philippines; Ford Philippines; Honda Cars Philippines; Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc.; Isuzu Philippines Corp.; Mitsubishi Motor Corp.; Nissan Philippines; PGA Cars, Inc.; Toyota Motor Philippines; and Volkswagen Philippines.
The six esteemed individuals, namely SM Retail VP for Marketing Communications Group Millie Dizon, Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. ( MPTC) president and CEO Rodrigo Franco, Aeropagus Communications president Msgr. Pedro Quitorio, Centro Escolar University (CEU) president and chief academic officer Dr. Cristina Padolina, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( PCCI) honorary chairman and treasurer Sergio Ortiz- Luis, Jr. and Employees Confederation of the Philippines ( ECOP) chairman Edgardo Gapuz Lacson, served as jurors in selecting the best CSR projects.
AUTO INDUSTRY CSR CHAMPIONS
Auto industry luminaries and figures, as well as SPMJ’s roster of top motoring journalists graced the firstever SPMJ Driven to Serve CSR Awards Night on Feb. 23, 2017 at the Ceremonial Hall of the Marriott Grand Ballroom in Resorts World Manila, Pasay City.
“There are so many good people doing good deeds out there, but most of the time, people don’t know about it because we don’t give press releases to it. Tonight, we pay tribute to these deeds delivered in wholesale by people in the auto industry,” says SPMJ president and Manila Bulletin executive editor Pinky Colmenares during her opening speech.
During the Awards Ceremony, several nominated automakers and distributors won the coveted Silver, Gold and Platinum awards for the best CSR projects.
Receiving the top Platinum Award in the Road Safety category is Ford Philippines with its Driving Skills for Life program — the country’s pioneer road safety education program. Launched in partnership with the Tuason Racing School, the program has taught more than 18,000 drivers nationwide since it started in 2008.
In the same category, Volkwagen Philippines and Honda Cars Philippines both won the Gold Award for their respective projects, “Child Safety Initiative: An Early Start on Road Safety Awareness” and the “1’M Blue Eco Safe Driving” initiative.
The Education category of the awards was a tight competition between six companies. Toyota Motors Philippines took home the coveted Platinum Award for its Toyota Motors Philippines School of Technology (TMP Tech) in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna. Since opening in 2013, the school has already produced 405 graduates for its twoyear Automative Servicing Program with the help of the Technical Education Skills Development Authority’s (TESDA).
Also receiving awards in the Education Category are Isuzu Philippines Corp., which brought home the Gold Award for its Isuzu-TESDA Auto Mechanic Training Center in Tacloban City, Leyte; and PGA Cars, which received the Silver Award for its Porsche Training and Recruitment Center Asia in Mandaluyong City.
In the Environment category, where five companies vied for the top recognition. Nonetheless, the top Gold Award went to Toyota Motors Philippines for its Philippine Peñablanca Sustainable Reforestation Project, wherein, the company spent $3 million from 2007 to 2013 to plant indigenous tree species in a 2,500-hectare of land in Peñablanca, Cagayan.
Taking home Silver Awards in the same category are Isuzu Philippines Corp., for various environmental CSR projects such as ISUlong ang Kalikasan, Save the Mangroves initiative and Isuzu Park Conservation Program; and Mitsubishi Motor Corp. for its Volunteers for Batad project that helped restore the Batad Rice Terraces in Ifugao.
Toyota Motor Philippines also clinced the top Platinum Award in the Community Development category for its Toyota-City of Sta. Rosa Gawad Kalinga Village project in 2012 wherein it funded the construction of 160 socialized housing units in an 8,000-sqm land donated by the City Government of Sta. Rosa, Laguna.
Before the night ended, Nissan Philippines and Ford Philippines both took Silver Awards for their respective community development projects. Nissan partnered with Habitat for Humanity in 2015 for its Shelter Rebuild Drive, while Ford’s Operation Better World provided clean water to communities in Leyte following the onslaught of Typhoon Yolanda.
“All CSR projects are outstanding in their own right because all of them shared one vision, and that is to uplift lives and improve communities… perhaps, 2018 will give us another set of awardess, but what is important is to share the message of giving back and sharing our blessings with the less fortunate,” says SPMJ founding chairman Ray Butch Gamboa.