The year of the pig had been rewarding for AG&P Company of Manila Foundation, Inc. as it paved the way for the foundation to provide more intensive trainings to an extended market through new and various sponsors while addressing its ever growing corporate social responsibility. With the massive assistance coming from different groups and organizations, the foundation was able to fulfill its objective of being a catalyst of change within the community where it operates. The technical trainings and seminars, through the Technical School, gave room to hundreds of hopefuls to improve their lives. More so with the community residents as community service programs rendered by the foundation along with several local government units and non-government organizations benefited their way of living. The foundation, being a critical provider of technical skills training and an earnest philanthropist, has undoubtedly proved its capacity to be one of the premiers in this industry.Technical Skills Training ProgramLast 2008, AG&PFI Technical School has realized one hundred eleven (111) dreams after providing technical skills in welding and pipefitting to 111 individuals who once hoped for a better life. Coming from various sponsors, most of which were new and some recurring, these 111 technical school graduates were equipped with a steep learning curve through the school’s developed curriculum and syllabus.
To further enhance the classroom lectures and hands-on training, AG&PFI Welding and Pipefitting faculties came up with TESDA-Accredited Training Manuals on welding and pipefitting for the trainees. These handbooks are compilations of lectures from various welding and pipefitting books simplified for easier comprehension.
The 2008 batch of trainees proved to be fortunate as they were the first batches to utilize the newly-built audio visual rooms and welding and pipefitting laboratories as their training areas. Within the year, three (3) schools using containerized vans were built in response to the immediate concern of skills training. The Welding School near Building 10 was set-up using an approved CAPEX Budget of Php 5,835,000.00 No. 2007-0175 JO # 8007-5696. It was composed of audio visual rooms, welding booths, men and ladies’ locker room, lounge area, and administration building. This building, however, was relocated after several months near the Purchasing Office area in order to accommodate the Foster Wheeler clients.Moreover, the Pipefitting School within Bolo Dormitory in Bolo, Bauan, Batangas houses 4 audio visual rooms with 50 seats per room, having a total of 200-seat capacity. The budget allocated for the construction of the Bolo Pipefitting School is Php 1,500,000.00. Along with the Welding School near Building 10, this school was inaugurated March 28, 2008.
The relocated Welding School which was inaugurated last December 19, 2008 accommodates the offices of the Executive Director, Training & Marketing, Registrar, Training & Development, faculty rooms, audio visual and training rooms, expanded welding booths as training areas. After almost three (3) months of construction, the 3-storey building now functions more effectively due to the doubled capacity of the welding booths allowing utilization of more trainees at the same time.Corporate Social Responsibility
AG&PFI’s determination to expand its network beyond providing technical skills training seemed to bolt the whole community from the blue as various community service programs were rendered last year (2008) by the foundation in cooperation with different local government units and non-government organizations. The other face of AG&P – a catalyst in improving the welfare of the community residents through sustainable programs was greatly revealed.
AG&PFI, jointly with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO), Bauan Municipal Government, and the councils of participating schools and barangays, conducted a tree planting program with the theme “Nurture the Nature, Sponsor a Tree” in realization of its corporate social responsibility last July 2008. The program involved students, faculties, sectoral representatives, municipal employees, barangay officials, local communities, groups of environmentalists, AG&P management and employees, and technical school trainees to look after the trees’ survival. Tree planting activities have begun last year but growing and maintenance have been continuously done, it being one of the foundation’s sustainable programs.Furthermore, an Integrated Farming Bio-systems Training on Vegetable Farming was also conducted last July 2008 as an initial move towards the realization of the Farm Development and Agriculture Resource Management (FARM) Project which was created in order to make idle lands within the AG&P premises and other areas productive through the integration of appropriate, environment-friendly, sustainable, and low-cost agricultural technologies for the production of its own vegetable supply. Since its inception, the company was able to harvest safe and organic vegetables, thus supplementing the company's large consumption of vegetables and the same time utilizing the vacant areas within Bolo Dormitory compound and other company-owned areas.
The foundation ended year 2008 having accomplished two (2) successful Medical & Dental Missions for residents of San Roque, Sta. Maria, Bolo, and San Miguel last September 5 and December 11, 2008. Approximately 150 medical and dental practitioners coming from different groups and organizations such as Bauan Doctors General Hospital, Bauan Medical Society, Bauan Rural Health Unit, Bejasa Hospital, Municipal Health Office, Provincial Health Office, Philippine Nurses Society of Bauan, and Philippine Red Cross took part in this noble undertaking. An estimate of 500-600 San Roque residents and 400-500 Sta. Maria/Bolo/San Miguel residents were given free medical check ups, whereas approximately 300 San Roque residents and 150 Sta. Maria/Bolo/San Miguel residents were provided with free dental services.
Meanwhile, it was September 2008 when AG&PFI joined the Coastal Clean Up Project of the Municipality of Bauan. Volunteers coming from AG&P, AG&PFI, and Brgy. San Roque were able to gather 708 kilos or 1,568 pounds of garbage from the coast of San Andres through the river dividing Manghinao and San Roque. The project was also in coordination with the International Coastal Clean Up, the Ocean Conservancy (ICC). Near this cleaned river, AG&PFI also developed a park & playground for the San Roque children as its extension project to the tree planting and coastal clean up.
Early July 2008 marked the initial donation of text books to Brgy. San Roque library by AG&PFI with the support of Asia Foundation which provided seven (7) boxes of assorted books, including hard and soft bound reference books on Math, Science, Skills, History, Languages and Arts, among others. Asia Foundation motivated AG&PFI to push through with this specific community project in response to the greater demand of some communities to increase the number of reading materials and school text references as a basic tool in education.
AG&PFI ended year 2008 with a bang as it celebrated the Yuletide Season through a gift giving project entitled “Pamaskong Handog ng AG&P at AG&PFI sa Mamamayan”. The project aimed to donate used clothes, food, and various commodities to at least 100 indigents residing in Brgy. San Roque. Aside from the donated clothes, recipients were provided with 2 kilos of rice each and various canned goods and commodities as take home gifts for their families.
Other Seminars and Trainings
AG&PFI Technical School has opened more training opportunities aside from welding and pipefitting last 2008. On the second quarter (April 2008), AG&PFI conducted a 5-day Millwright Training at BHFY Welding School in order to determine the competency standard of the Millwright craft.
Twenty one (21) AG&P employees, composed of supervisors, drivers, carpenters, engineers, electricians, and HVAC, participated in the said seminar. Mr. Rodolfo Villacarlos and Generoso Duenas, both certified millwright trainers from Leyte, served as the seminar’s facilitators. November 2008 marked another first in the history of AG&PFI as Mr. John Palmer, CSP, Director of Scaffold Training Institute based in Houston, Texas proffered a 5-day Scaffold Train the Trainers Program to selected AG&P managers, supervisors, and scaffolders. These participants have undergone a screening procedure, putting a bigger weight on their capacity to teach and train the company’s scaffolders on the proper scaffolding procedures. Having passed and completed the course, these participants are now internationally-certified scaffolders/scaffolding trainers of AG&P.
