Four-act musical launches One Meralco Foundation
MANILA, Philippines - A light musical was the fitting centerpiece of the launch of the One Meralco Foundation recently at the Meralco Theater in the Ortigas business district. It was also a unique way of launching the re-energized corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of the country’s biggest power distributor.
Directed by Jorge Sales and conceptualized by TBWA/Tequila, the four-act musical featured a cast that included the Ryan Cayabyab Singers, the Gawad Kalinga Tatalon Choir and Meralco employees. The musical tells the story of the four pillars of Meralco’s CSR initiatives: rural and missionary electrification, grassroots partnerships, sports and youth advocacy, and disaster relief and emergency preparedness.
Darlene, a nursing student who sings her recollection of her painful Ondoy experience in a dormitory in Manila, and Jonas, a seminarian whose vocation inspires him to shed light on those around him while keeping the light within him from fading. The other character, Ronald, notorious in his neighborhood for using “jumpers” or illegal electrical connections, gives a wickedly funny rendition of a song about “getting away with it” but sees the light and changes his ways in the end. The fourth character, Jimi, shares his hoop dreams with the boys in the neighbourhood who do a bouncy hip-hop dance number with basketballs as props.
In the finale, the lives of all four characters change for the better, and they are joined by the Meralco Chorale and members of the foundation’s board of trustees in a rousing version of the song One.
One Meralco is the new corporate foundation which integrates all the CSR and sustainability initiatives of the Meralco Group. It represents change and a re-energized approach to CSR and sustainability.
In his remarks to the audience, One Meralco Foundation chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan, who celebrated his birthday the day before, explained that One Meralco now exists because “whatever affects one affects all in the community. Improving the lives of the poorest of the poor cannot be done by us alone, and this is why we are reaching out to the community of NGOs who are here today.”
Jeffrey Tarayao, Meralco’s chief CSR officer and president of the One Meralco Foundation, said launching the foundation in an artistic manner was “our way of highlighting Meralco’s continuing commitment to innovation and the sustainability of its social investments.”
One Meralco is the company’s vehicle to realizing this vision by integrating the Meralco group’s CSR and sustainability efforts. With a unified approach, the foundation seeks to serve marginalized Filipinos especially by providing access to electricity.
