Half a billion of hope

In the world of business and competition, so much is written about how companies and CEOs try their best to outmaneuver, outflank, outbid and outbuy their competitors almost to the point of business becoming a game of “Oneupmanship”.

Philippine business is no different. People here can get fiercely competitive to the point that it all becomes almost unbelievable and seemingly personal. In a small pond of limited opportunities, people can get hurt and things can get pretty stupid.

Then one day, someone does something totally different. One day, they “re-write” the rules. Instead of “buy-buy-buy” and playing “I got one over you”, someone decides there are better things to do and brings everything to the next level. That “someone” is San Miguel Corporation.

I just learned that Ambassador Eduardo Cojuangco, chairman of San Miguel Corporation and Ramon S. Ang, president of SMC have signed a half-a-billion-peso donation for the purpose of building “San Miguel Communities” in Cagayan de Oro, Iligan and possibly Dumaguete province. Half a billion or P500 million certainly rewrites and redefines the value or the amount of money that corporations donate for disaster relief.

But more than just raising the price or the stakes, San Miguel Corporation has also decided to rewrite their approach to charity and relief work. Instead of merely being donors, giving money or just building homes in relocation sites, San Miguel Corporation has decided to pursue the path of true community development.

Ramon Ang himself has laid down particular goals where San Miguel Corporation intends to have a continuing development process. After building the 5,000 plus homes, the plan is to build, develop and establish income generating projects and related businesses so that the families will immediately have livelihood on site and will have a built-in “market”.

By linking up with successful organizations such as Gawad Kalinga and Habitat for Humanity, San Miguel Corporation wisely partnered with NGOs that efficiently utilize community cooperation thereby maximizing use of donations, while injecting self worth and self-respect among beneficiaries.

While GK and Habitat build up the houses, San Miguel Corporation’s strengths come into play in putting up the second most important component, which is livelihood. Since they have all the necessary units, a strong SMC Foundation, vibrant corporate social responsibility as well as inter-connected and complimentary business development units, experts would agree that the relocation sites will surely thrive and become places of opportunity.

Unlike other donations and “relocation sites”, the San Miguel Communities are intended to be a long-term relationship that will be monitored not just to completion but to full development as healthy, self-supporting, business oriented centers.

Instead of just being another “donation”, the SMC communities may well be the new business model for SMC where communities go from ‘Relocation sites”, becoming actual “partners” and long term customers.

Given the nation’s imminent threats in terms of natural disasters, the example or CSR business model embarked upon by San Miguel Corporation also shows how the strength of private corporations can help shore up or rescue local governments in the face of overwhelming calamities. In far-flung communities with underdeveloped economies such as Iligan, San Miguel Corporation becomes the white knight not only in financial terms but also in relieving the pain and suffering of the poorest of the poor.

From what I heard, no less than President Benigno Noynoy Aquino will lead the Journey of Hope and the groundbreaking as special guest of SMC/GK/Habitat at Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. Just in case the President and his advisers happen to read this article, I humbly suggest for the President and our lawmakers to consider crafting a special “Disaster tax relief” law that could serve as an incentive to other corporations to directly invest 10 percent of their income tax to disaster relief and rehabilitation.

This way, private corporations that have the ability to respond faster and have lesser restrictions can directly help local governments. In like manner, local government units can now study similar legislations for companies that are based or operate in their province, town or city.

I’m sure that the initial reaction would be to resist the idea, but when you are sunk in four feet of mud, or swimming neck deep in flood waters, when your province, town or city has spent all it can spend, tax collection will be last on your mind. Hungry, homeless people are not going to be arguing about financial prudence or internal revenues. Everybody will simply be praying for people to help.

Why wait? And what is so wrong with rewarding people and their business for their willingness to help? Relief should also go both ways. Otherwise we will eventually end up with donor fatigue and after several disasters, even Danding Cojuangco and Ramon Ang will have to find some way to justify giving more money to public service to do something government is ultimately responsible for.

It is time for all of us to have a mature, balanced, and proactive perspective on how to run our disaster relief system. Congratulations to Ambassador Danding Cojuangco and Ramon Ang as well as all shareholders of San Miguel Corporation, may God bless how you share and care.

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In the last column I wrote in Ctalk, I mentioned that MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino had sent a “4-man” clearing team to Iligan. The correct figure was a 40-man team.

I also want to thank our other readers who “gently” and “kindly” corrected similar mistakes either in my choice of words or spelling. I really appreciate it as long as it is done nicely. Finally, my apologies to readers who have reacted directly on the feedback site of Philippine Star, because I have been unable to send them replies. It’s quite difficult to manage several reply sites. Nonetheless, Thank you and GOD bless you.

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