16 Years of Volunteerism and Support for the Annual Brigada Eskwela by PHINMA

PHINMA Corporation, a conglomerate with operations in education, building supplies, real estate development, and hospitality that is authentically Filipino, recently marked its 16th year of dedication and support to the Department of Education’s (DepEd) annual Brigada Eskwela. Before Brigada Eskwela was institutionalized in 2008, The PHINMA Group was encouraging its staff, scholars, and their families to take part in DepEd’s Adopt-A-School Program. Volunteers from all around the organization’s network have participated in a variety of projects, including restoring classrooms, constructing walkways and sheds, improving gardens, and providing school supplies. In the last ten years, PHINMA has supported at least 10,907 public school pupils, 247 teachers, and planted at least 280 native trees.

Each of PHINMA’s strategic business units (SBUs) individually launched its own yearly Brigada Eskwela activities. For instance, the education division of the PHINMA Group, PHINMA Education Holdings Inc., has been organizing all of its charitable activities under its Helping Hands program, including Brigada Eskwela, tree planting, and typhoon assistance. As part of the conglomerate’s “1PHINMA” initiative, PHINMA Hero, the organization’s employee engagement program, coordinated this year’s group-wide initiatives.

Roberto M. Laviña, PHINMA Foundation’s President and Director of PHINMA Inc., credits the PHINMA employees’ strong spirit and culture of volunteerism as reason for the group’s 16-year commitment to and noteworthy achievements during the annual Brigada Eskwela. “Brigada Eskwela is a hands-on experiential event that gives everyone a chance to be part of the solution. I have joined Brigada Eskwela many times and everyone I have worked with in this volunteer activity have confirmed that they are extremely satisfied with the experience. Volunteers will certainly get their hands dirty, literally, when they join Brigada Eskwela. But that’s okay, because you know that through this activity you’re making lives better for students and their families,” added Laviña.

This year alone, over 800 volunteers from the PHINMA Group participated in the Brigada Eskwela. The school improvement initiative this year involves repairing and cleaning 40 public schools across the country. PHINMA also donated masks, gloves, alcohol, cleaning materials and school supplies in preparation for the resumption of face-to-face classes.

“They say that it takes a village to raise a child. We are all here because we all believe that alone we can do so little, and together we can do so much. And with the theme ‘Tugon sa Hamon ng Ligtas na Balik-Aral,’ we are thankful that we have the PHINMA Group continuously supporting Brigada Eskwela. With our theme this year, we would like to highlight the country’s collective efforts from various partnership engagements in creating a conducive learning environment for the students, teachers, and non-teaching personnel,” said Dr. Medarlo De Leon, Principal of Dagupan City National High School, one of the Group’s Brigada Eskwela school beneficiaries this year.

We thank the employees, the volunteers, the scholars and their families, and the different communities who devoted their time wholeheartedly for our participation in the annual Brigada Eskwela. Peter Perfecto, PHINMA Corporation Vice President for Public Affairs and PHINMA Foundation Vice President, praised the volunteers across their different strategic business units. Their commitment to improving lives through our businesses and by collaborating with and working for the communities we serve is what drives the PHINMA family’s involvement. The same culture is what gave rise to “1PHINMA” and the generations of improvements it has brought about.