Sabangan – Hedcor Sabangan, Inc., a subsidiary of Aboitiz Power is pouring Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs to help its host communities in Sabangan and as a way to honor their partnership.
During a simple program for the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for Hedcor’s CSR program, Hedcor Sabangan President and COO Rolando Pacquiao gave emphasis on the coming together of various stakeholders for a single purpose: to drive change for a better world.
The approved CSR projects for the host communities are purposive college scholarship (Php 220,000), senior high financial assistance (Php 63,400), construction of water supply for the isolation facility for the municipality of Sabangan (Php 1,300,000), by phase construction of water system for all barangays in Sabangan (Php 900,000), support to public schools and capacity building activities (Php 450,000) and Bansa ES water system installation (Php 150,000).
“I am pretty sure that our presence here today signifies our commitment to this group effort of co-creating a better world – one having communities that are safe, empowered and sustainable. As part of the Aboitiz Group’s promise of advancing business and communities, we commit to continuously carry out carefully-designed projects that will truly respond to the needs of our host communities, thus, uplifting their lives,” Pacquiao said.
In his message, Gov. Bonifacio C. Lacwasan, Jr. expressed the full support of the Provincial Government to the good partnership between Hedcor and the host community and local government of Sabangan. Aside from the CSR program, the governor also mentioned on the benefits that the province is reaping like the income on government and community shares.
Meanwhile, Sabangan Mayor Marcial C. Lawilao, Jr., thanked the Hedcor for bringing its CSR program which delivers social projects to the municipality. He also reinforced the message of the governor on the revenue shares and other benefits that the company has brought to the place.
Lawilao also urged the different municipal executives to try investing in hydro power plant if possible since it has a lot of benefits, not only to the affected communities but also to the province as a whole.
It will be recalled that Hedcor Sabangan pioneered the construction of the very first hydro power facility in Mountain Province which is the 14-megawatt Sabangan Hydro that is located in Barangays Namatec and Napua. The hydro plant harnesses power from the Chico River to produce safe, reliable and clean energy.
Moreover, the MOA for CSR programs was signed by Hedcor Sabangan, Inc. President Pacquiao, Governor Lacwasan, Mayor Lawilao, Vice President for Corporate Services Noreen Marie N. Vicencio, Sabangan Vice Mayor Dario P. Esden and community representatives.
In relation to this, records from the Provincial Treasurer’s Office shows that the province as a whole is annually receiving a net of Php 19,790,726.72 real property tax (RPT) from Hedcor. From the amount, the basic RPT is totaled at Php 9,895,363.36 which is also the same as the Special Education Fund (SEF). From the basic RPT, the Provincial Government is receiving an annual share of Php 3,463,377.18 (35%) while the Sabangan Municipal Local Governemnt Unit is receiving an annual municipal share of Php 3,958,145.34 (40%) and the recipient barangays get and will divide the annual share of Php 2,473,840 (25%).
For the SEF, the Provincial Government and the Sabangan Municipal Government is getting an annual share of Php 4,947,681.68 each. According to Assistant Provincial Treasurer Gemma Teresita R. Fateg, SEF tax is collected simultaneously with the basic RPT and is imposed at a fixed rate of 1% on assessed value of real property tax. According to her, SEF is earmarked to support public education. **Erwin S. Batnag
