Globe adopts Boracay as 1st CoP in Visayas

MANILA, Philippines - Boracay, the country’s premiere tourist destination, is Globe’s first Community of Practice (CoP) in the Visayas to help the island achieve social, environmental and economic development.

Allotting P1 million for various support activities, Globe deemed it necessary to protect the area’s marine life, support conservation efforts by local stakeholders and participate in raising environmental awareness among the youth and local residents.

Globe has entered into a one-year partnership with Sangkalikasan Cooperative to support the sustainability of the marine protected area initiative called The Code Blue Project, under which 5,000 artificial reef buds have been planted within the 20-hectare protected area to assist in propagation and maintain high survival rate of the corals.

For law enforcement, Globe has an existing Sagot Ka ni Kap (SKK) program in Brgy. Manok-Manok, which it extends to the whole of Boracay. SKK equips local barangay officials with the necessary tools to upgrade the tanods and the Boracay Action Group for coastline patrolling. Globe provides a multi-cab vehicle and boat to beef up coast and sea patrol activities.

Likewise, Globe will help Sangkalikasan monitor its reef patrol volunteers and other partners through tools such as the Globe TxtConnect facility, which allows text messages to be blasted off simultaneously to members of an organization for easier coordination, reporting and receiving real-time feedback.

Environmental education is another drive which Globe will provide to three public elementary schools in Boracay – Manok-Manok, Balabag, and Yapak – using the Text2Teach (T2T) program implemented through Ayala Foundation. T2T utilizes educational videos to make it easier for young students to learn Math, Science, and English. More environmental conservation materials will be shown to make the students aware of the environmental situation in Boracay and encourage them to be proactive in protecting the area and saving it from further destruction.

The effort will also be extended to the other nine public elementary schools in the whole municipality of Malay where Boracay is located.

Youth clubs and private schools will also be tapped for the six-month youth education program to be handled by University of San Carlos Cebu.