SMC's Ang is Philanthropist of the Year

MANILA, Philippines - For his commitment to nation building, his civic leadership in social development, and his efforts to promote the growth of Filipino industries, San Miguel Corp. (SMC) president and chief operating officer Ramon S. Ang was named Philanthropist of the Year by one of the country’s leading business groups.

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), which gave the award to Ang at the recent Philippine Business Conference and Expo in Manila, highlighted the chief executive’s “stewardship in promoting and preserving peace and order”, which is essential for businesses to prosper.

The group cited Ang’s contribution to the Foundation for Crime Prevention and Patrol 117, which operates the emergency hotline used throughout the country.

“We are investing to upgrade our hardware and software and make Patrol 117 at par with other emergency numbers in the developed economies. Once updated, Patrol 117 should be able to respond to fire-related incidents and deploy fire trucks, emergency medical services, as well as search and rescue teams. We thank Mr. Ramon S. Ang for strongly supporting Patrol 117,” said PCCI president Dr. Francis Chua.

On top of his contributions to PCCI’s efforts, Ang is also an active supporter of various social development causes. Under him, the San Miguel Foundation, SMC’s social development arm, has taken on many corporate social responsibility projects related to education, community and enterprise development, the environment, and disaster response.

Among the foundation’s noteworthy projects are its community clinics in its areas of operation, where it provides free medical consultations and medicines to needy families; its supplemental feeding program dubbed “Malusog na Katawan, Matalas na Isipan, and its barangay strengthening program, where local leaders are given training on good governance.

It also has enterprise development programs, which provides livelihood training and opportunities; education assistance in the form of scholarships and a “Books for the Barrios” drive, as well as environment programs such as reforestation, coastal resource management, waste management, and the dredging of the Tullahan river.

In recent years, San Miguel, under Ang’s leadership, gained even more prominence in the area of disaster relief. Aside from substantial donations to calamity victims and pushing for employee volunteerism, the company also acquired flood rescue vehicles which proved invaluable during rescue efforts at the height of typhoons Pedring and Quiel.

Furthermore, the group said Ang’s efforts and contributions to PCCI also helped in uplifting the economic well-being of law enforcers and institutions, as well as institutionalized the public and private partnership in community peace building and crime prevention.

The group lauded him for his “dedicated advocacy in rendering social protection, social justice, and respect of human rights for the Filipino citizenry.”