SUBIC BAY FREEPORT , Philippines – Metro Pacific Investment Foundation (MPIF), the corporate social responsibility arm of the MVP Group of Companies, kicked off yesterday the Zambales leg of its 2013 ‘Shore It Up: Rescue, Restore, Revive’ coastal and underwater cleanup campaign.
The foundation has forged agreements with the local government of Zambales represented by vice governor Ramon Lacbain, Lighthouse Marina Resort sales and marketing manager Zedrik Avecilla and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman and administrator Roberto Garcia.
MPIF was represented in the agreement by Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) vice president for corporate communications Melody del Rosario and MPIF CSR consultant for Shore It Up! 2013 Ralph Balmaceda.
Now in its fifth year, Shore It Up! continues to extend its reach in major coastal areas that need to be restored to its natural state.
This year, the campaign has been taken to three destinations, the first two being Anilao, Batangas in May and in Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro in July. Around 500 kilos of trash were gathered in each clean up site and were turned over to the local government unit for proper disposal.
Volunteers picked up bits and pieces of garbage accumulated on the coastline while licensed volunteer divers hauled up debris that accumulated along the shoreline.
Aside from coastal and underwater clean up, the Shore It Up! campaign includes the conduct of environmental issue awareness sessions, tree planting activities, waste segregation, and installation of artificial reefs.
As MPIF’s resort partner for the Zambales leg, Lighthouse will host waste management workshops and coordinate with the local government for the implementation of the campaign.
Lighthouse has been engaged in various environmental CSR-activities which includes coastal cleanup and awareness campaigns in Zambales in the last five years such as hosting the International Coastal Cleanup every third Saturday of September.
Avecilla said MPIF’s backing for their clean up project has increased local support to their undertaking.
“Shore It Up! is a big help to tourism because this will help protect beaches,†he said.
Over the past five years, Shore It Up! has gained 13,000 volunteers and 43 event partners among which are The Philippine STAR.
Aside from MPIC, other companies within the MVP Group of Companies participating in the campaign are Philex Mining Corp., Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), SMART Communications, SPi Global and Maynilad Water Services Inc.
The CSR arms of Meralco and PLDT – Meralco Foundation and SMART Foundation – are also partners in the campaign.