University of Asia and the Pacific Pearl Drive, Ortigas Center,
Pasig City
AN ASSESSMENT PAPER OF THE CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
PROJECTS OF SAN MIGUEL CORPORATION
In partial fulfilment For the requirements in the subject
Introduction to People Development Corporate Social Responsibility
(IPD-CSR)
Submitted to: Prof. Hilda Felipe San Gabriel
Submitted by: Melissa Antoinette Garcia Merlanne Abby Crizaldo
Astrud de Castro David Ron Manabat Krishna Punzalan
MARCH 15 2012
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT In fulfilling this requirement, we would like to
thank the following people who served as our inspiration: First and
foremost, it is with immense gratitude that we acknowledge the help
and support of our dear professor Ms. Hilda San Gabriel who
continually guided us in this endeavor. The completion of this
paper will not be possible if not for her. We also want to extend
our thanks to our beloved families who constantly provide for our
financial and emotional needs. All of them served as inspirations.
With utmost importance we offer our thanks to Ms. Camille
Buenaventura, Executive Director of San Miguel Foundation, for
sharing her time with us and for making us feel at home in San
Miguel Corp. We appreciate her efforts in answering all our queries
regarding the CSR projects of the organization. It really helped
provide substantial information for the paper. And lastly, we want
to give thanks to the Almighty One who endowed us strength and
wisdom in accomplishing our paper. We could not have completed this
humble task if not for this people.
The Researchers
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Being a household name due to different
products and services that the company provides and introduces for
the country and some nations abroad, San Miguel Corporation is an
ever growing organization that has become part of the Philippine
economy. And with its status now Camille Buenaventura, Executive
Director of San Miguel Foundation, sees the need for the company to
give back to their clients through the companys corporate social
responsibility (CSR) projects. This paper is divided into three
parts which would provide an assessment, deliberation,
recommendation and conclusion regarding the corporate social
responsibility of the top brewing company in Asia. In the
assessment part of this paper, the researchers gathered the CSR
projects of San Miguel Corp., its strategies, analyses and
reporting processes to provide information that was used in order
to assess and determine whether or not intended outcomes are being
achieved by the company. The researchers assessed the company based
on the following criteria: 1. If the companys CSR projects are
align with their corporate strategy 2. If it complies with the four
components of CSR (economic, legal, ethical, philanthropic) 3. If
the type or level of CSR of San Miguel is minimalist, strategic or
discretionary With these criteria, the researchers are able to
consider and deliberate the CSR projects of the company and
generate a statement or decision or activity that will benefit one
of the stakeholders of San Miguel Corp., - the larger community in
some way. This is the second part of the paper. Based on the CSR
projects of San Miguel Corp. the researchers found out that the
companys CSR projects are aligned with their corporate strategy.
When it comes to the four components of CSR, the corporation has
complied with all the required responsibilities such as3
economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic. Lastly, the
researchers concluded that San Miguel Corp., is practicing
strategic CSR since it went beyond of what the law requires them to
do. As a recommendation, the researchers suggest an in-depth
analysis of the CSR projects in a specific manufacturing industry
of San Miguel, Inc. (i.e. focusing on the CSR projects of packaging
industry). The researchers also suggests that the corporation
should continue their CSR projects and formulate other initiatives
such as the livelihood programs, and many others to further solve
the pressing issues of the community.
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INTRODUCTION Abstract Corporate Social Responsibility is defined
as the commitment of business to contribute to sustainable economic
development, working with employees, their families, the local
community and the society at large to improve the quality of life.
CSR debunks the idea that businesses are only profit generating
bodies. In the society, a corporation, which is already considered
a legal entity and have certain rights as that of an individual,
should not only focus on generating profit, but also in taking care
of the environment and the people. In this case report, the
corporate social responsibility of a particular company San Miguel
Corporation, will be studied. The companys core business includes
food, beverages, packaging and properties. Having gone through a
lot of changes, San Miguel Corporation is still going strong and
controls a large percentage of the market. Knowing the definition
of CSR, San Miguel Corporation was able to give facts and concrete
plans on how they would help their local community. They also made
sure that all their CSR activities are in line with the nature of
their business. After all the needed information about the CSR
activities of the corporation will be gathered, the researchers
will analyze the data and will give their own recommendations. The
propositions regarding the company will ensure that their CSR
activities will be their way of life. Objectives This study intends
to make an assessment report on the CSR projects and programs of
San Miguel Corporation through the San Miguel Foundation.
Furthermore, this study aims to: 1. identify some, if not all, of
the CSR projects of the San Miguel Corporation
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2. assess the CSR projects of the San Miguel Corporation using
the triple bottomline of corporations 3. measure the effectiveness
of the CSR projects of San Miguel Corporation 4. identify some of
the best practices of the said corporation in reference to their
CSR projects and programs Scope and Limitation This study intends
to assess the CSR practices, projects and programs of a chosen
company. The researchers have chosen the San Miguel Corporation as
the focus of this study. The study would use the personal interview
of the researchers with the Executive Director of the San Miguel
Foundation as a primary source in gathering the needed information
for the study. In line with this, the researchers would also use
the brochures and assessment reports, which were provided by the
San Miguel Foundation, also as a basis for the assessment. In the
assessment and analysis of the CSR projects and programs, the
researchers would use the triple bottomline of corporations namely,
the economic, social and environmental. With this, the study is
limited to use only the company chosen by the researchers. The
study will not be allowed to use other companies for comparison.
Also, the study is also bounded with the CSR projects provided by
the corporation. Lastly, the assessment will solely be objective
judgments and be based on class discussions in IPD-CSR.
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The Company Through our products and services, we want to give
every single person we come in contact with access to the very best
we can offerwhether in terms of quality, or affordability or
choice. Our vision is to contribute to a strong Philippines, where
our businesses create new jobs where the cost of basic services is
well within the reach of every Filipino, where quality roads and
transport infrastructure help bring down the cost of goods, putting
more money in the pockets of manufacturers and consumers alike, and
where our beverages and food products provide nutrition, and
enjoyment in celebrating lifes big and small moments. More so, with
over 17,000 employees, and a nation-wide network of thousands of
suppliers, dealers, distributors and business partners, San Miguel
Corporation is ideally placed to make a positive impact on the
Philippine economy, the environment and society (Home, San Miguel
Corporation, 2011). San Miguel Corporation (SMC), a household name
because of its brewery biz, is the biggest food and beverage
manufacturer in the Philippines. Its main businesses are food and
beverage, agriculture, packaging and property. Being the largest
food-to-power conglomerates in the Philippines, it operates more
than 100 facilities not only in China but also in Southeast Asia.
The most popular product that SMC delivers is the San Miguel
Brewery (beer and liquor), on the other hand, it also has Pure Food
unit which manufactures a different staples such as meats, dairy
products, and coffee. More so, it has Ginebra, Monterey, Magnolia
under its flagship. Not only does SMC have packaging operations, it
is also a major stakeholder in Petron (the biggest oil refiner in
the country) and owns 33% interest in Manila Electric. In addition
to this, SMC has also a joint venture with the Qatar Telecom which
operates mobile and broadband businesses in the Philippines and has
other investments in energy, telecommunications, mining,
construction and banking (Our Company, San Miguel Corporation,
2011).
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With these things said, it is but undeniable that through
strategic partnerships it has forged with major international
companies, San Miguel has gained access to managerial expertise,
international practices and advanced technology, thereby enhancing
its performance and establishing itself as a world-class company.
With the far-reaching influence of CSR, now, more than ever,
corporations are guided by values from which it bases its every
business decision. As for San Miguel Corporation, integrity,
teamwork, respect for others and social responsibility are just a
few of its corporate values that guide them every day. Through its
corporate social responsibility arm, San Miguel Foundation
Incorporated, San Miguel Corporation proactively reaches out to
others to bring forth change that will enable communities to live
better lives. As consequence, then, San Miguel Foundation, Inc. has
crafted various programs and projects that address contemporary
issues on livelihood, health, education, the environment and
disaster relief following its overall direction of Enterprise,
Education and the Environment (Social Responsibility, San Miguel
Corporation, 2011). Succinctly, then, the above mentioned things
are the driving forces which motivated us into choosing San Miguel
Corporation as our company of interest. These are the very reasons
why our group chose this company to make a case study of.
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CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ACTIVITIES At large, San Miguel
Corporation, its subsidiaries and the foundation, hand-in-hand
envisions a country wherein all Filipinos will be able to celebrate
life in productive and selfreliant communities. With that, they
take it to themselves as a mission to be committed to empowering
our communities by managing corporate social responsibility
programs that harness the strengths of San Miguels operating
businesses. Now on its fifth decade as a foundation, San Miguel
continues to support and invest in communities in which they
operate by partnering with local community groups. As the
foundation claims, being the corporate social responsibility arm of
the Philippines largest and most diversified conglomerate that is,
San Miguel Corporation their ability have a positive impact on the
county is huge. This year, as they celebrate their 40th
anniversary, they renew their commitment to do their utmost to help
their parent company and its subsidiaries deliver on their social
and environmental objectives. As they put it, they would
collectively strive to ensure that good corporate citizenship is
woven into the very fabric of San Miguel Corporation. As their
Executive Director Camille Buenaventura puts it, Corporate Social
Responsibility should be a way of life. Given that belief, it is
but imperative to analyze and see for ourselves whether or not what
they say is congruent to what they do. Hence, this particular
section of the paper specifically expounds on the corporate social
responsibility activities and projects of San Miguel
Corporation.
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San Miguel CorporationSan Miguel Brewery, Inc. San Miguel
Yamamura Packaging Corporation San Miguel Purefoods CompanySan
Miguel Global Power Holdings Corporation
Ginerbra San Miguel, Inc.
Figure 1.1. San Miguel Corporation, the mother company, and its
subsidiaries
Given the information shown in Figure 1.1., on the onset, one
might fall into thinking that just because there is one mother
company, all these subsidiary companies rely entirely and solely on
the CSR projects and activities of San Miguel Corporation in
general. But after data gathering, each of these San Miguel
subsidiaries has CSR activities of their own. From these CSR
projects, it is but noteworthy that for each of these daughter
companies, they have both long-term and short-term or one-time
activities as will be seen in later discussions. In addition, it is
worth mentioning that during the interview, Ms. Camille
Buenaventura, the Executive Director of the foundation, mentioned
that they do not have a hardcore project for each of their
subsidiaries which means that even the projects of each of their
sub companies are diversified. According to her, for instance,
Purefoods being a food company limits them to feeding programs and
in-kind donations. Rather, though this particular companys main
projects are food-based, it still has other projects not directly
related to their being a food company.
10
Zeroing in on the San Miguel Brewery, Inc, their CSR activities
encompass four longterm programs and seven short-term
programs/projects as seen in Figure 2.1. Meanwhile, categorizations
of each of these projects are presented in Figure 2.1 while the
number of beneficiaries of each of these programs is in the
Appendices.
Long term"Malusog na Katawan, Matalas sa Isipan" Supplemental
Feeding Scholarship Community Clinics Socialized Housing
Short termScholarship Conference "Ipakita mo, talino mo batang
Pilipino", Kid's Camp Medical Missions Livelihood Capability
Building Watershed Rehabilitation and Coastal Clean-up Barangay
Strengthening Program Cash and In-kind Donation
Figure 2.1. Long-term and short-term projects of San Miguel
Brewer, Inc.
*Mati Fishermen Livelihood Project *del Carmen Siargao
Livelihood Project
*Bridgepark Development Program *Watershed Rehabilitation/ Tree
planting
Community Relations
Environment
*Malusog na Katawan, matalas na Isipan Supplemental Feeding
Program *Scholarship Program *Educational Conferences
Enterprise
Education
*Community Clinic *Medical Mission
Figure 2.2. Categorization of projects of San Miguel Brewery,
Inc.
Meanwhile, the CSR activities of San Miguel Yamamura Packaging
Corporation include two long-term programs and five short-term
programs/projects as seen in Figure 3.1. The
Others
*Livelihood capability Building
*Linis Kalat, Linis Dagat
*Barangay Strengthening Program
*Socialized Housing Project
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categorizations of each of these projects are also presented in
Figure 3.2 while the number of beneficiaries of each of these
programs is in the Appendices.
Long term"Maludog na Katawan, Matalas na Isipan" Supplemental
Feeding Schoolarship
Short termScholarship Conference Medical Missions Tree PLanting
and Mangrove Rehabilitation SMYPC 73rd Anniversary SMYPC Pamaskong
Handog Cash and In-kind Donation Figure 3.1. Long-term and
short-term projects of San Miguel Yamamura Packaging
Corporation
Education
Environment
Community Relations
Others
*Malusog na Katawan, matalas na Isipan Supplemental Feeding
Program *Scholarship Program TESDA Scholarship Program *Educational
Conferences
*Tree Planting in Monte Maria, Alfonso, Cavite *Mangrove
Rehabilitation in Brgy. Sasa, Davao City
*Medical Mission
*SMYPC Anniversary *SMYPC Marketing Christmas outreach at
Fabella Hospital, Abiertas House of Friendship, Little Sisters of
Assumption and Bustos Bulacan Donation of television set to Cavite
National Science High School Donation of school supplies at Tipolo
Day care Center, Mandaue City
Figure 3.2. Categorization of projects of San Miguel Yamamura
Packaging Corporation
With regards the CSR activities of San Miguel Purefoods Company,
two long-term programs and one short-term program/project are
included as seen in Figure 4.1. The categorizations of each of
these projects are also presented in Figure 4.2 while the number of
beneficiaries of each of these programs is in the Appendices.
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Long term Sumilao Community Clinic Handog Lusog - Supplemental
Feeding Program
Short term Medical MissionFigure 4.1. Long-term and short-term
projects of San Miguel Purefoods Company
Education
*Malusog na Katawan, matalas na Isipan Supplemental Feeding
Program
Community Relations
*Medical Mission
Others
Sumilao Community Clinic
Figure 4.2. Categorization of projects of San Miguel Purefoods
Company
Tackling the CSR activities of San Miguel Global Power Holdings
Corporation, it includes one long-term program and one short-term
program/project as seen in Figure 5.1. The categorizations of each
of these projects are also presented in Figure 5.2 while the number
of beneficiaries of each of these programs is in the
Appendices.
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Long term Sumilao Community Clinic Handog Lusog - Supplemental
Feeding Program
Short term Medical Mission
Figure 5.1. Long-term and short-term projects of San Miguel
Global Power Holdings Corporation
Education
*Scholarship Program in Batangas State University and in
Pangasinan State University
Community Relations
*Medical Mission
Figure 5.2. Categorization of projects of San Miguel Global
Power Holdings Corporation
And lastly, Ginebra San Miguel, Inc., also have one long-term
program and one shortterm/ one-time activity as seen in Figure 6.1.
The categorizations of each of these projects are also presented in
Figure 6.2 while the number of beneficiaries of each of these
programs is in the Appendices.
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Long term Sumilao Community Clinic Handog Lusog - Supplemental
Feeding Program
Short term Medical Mission
Figure 6.1. Long-term and short-term projects of Ginebra San
Miguel, Inc.
Education
*Scholarship Program
Community Relations
*Medical Mission
Figure 6.2. Categorization of projects of Ginebra San Miguel,
Inc.
On one hand, as was explicitly mentioned during our interview
with the Executive Director of SMF, San Miguel Corporation has
external CSR the ones provided for above. On the other hand, she
specifically qualified that they too have internal CSR. This giving
the employees decent wages that is, not only at the minimum,
providing them with the right
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benefits, making available wellness program in your company, and
striving to be a child-friendly company. Three Bottom lines In the
contemporary world, corporations are already considered separate
legal entities, meaning that they have the same rights as an
individual person residing in a specified territory. And in trying
to debunk the idea that the business of business is to make
business, John Elkington proposed the three bottom lines that all
corporations should follow People, Planet and Profit. Corporations
needed not only to generate profit, but also to remember not to be
monsters in the community, earning money at the expense of people
or the environment. Some companies who focused much on making
profit do not care anymore whether their actions will harm their
employees, or whether their factories will harm the environment.
These companies establish bad reputations in the community and may
affect their consumer market, especially in the long run. John
Elkington emphasizes that businesses should also take into
consideration its surroundings and the people inside and outside
the companys vicinity. San Miguel Corporations, having a separate
department handling CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility)
activities, exploits these three bottom lines. The company makes
sure that they give back to society the benefits it has given to
them. And one effective way of showing gratitude to the society is
through different CSR activities. And since the executive director
sees CSR as a way of life, their activities are all in line with
the nature of the business. Projects concerning the environment
include the following: Watershed Rehabilitation, Linis Dagat
Campaign, and the Bridge point Development Programs. All three
projects lean towards a healthy environment not only for consumers
and people residing near the company, but also for the whole
community. This is to ensure the safety of the companys consumers,
as
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well as to provide for the people the society that they deserve.
According to Ms. Camille, . . . some projects really depend on the
needs of the society at large. On the other hand, projects
concerning people living in the community include the following:
supplemental feeding programs, scholarships, socialized housing,
kids camp and other donations (of television sets, appliances and
school supplies). All these activities promote the basic rights of
the citizens in education and in having a good shelter. Most of San
Miguels beneficiaries are students who excel out-of-school youths,
and those who are homeless. Even though they are sometimes not
accepted in the community, as Ms. Camille would say, they still
continue what theyre doing for the betterment of the society. These
projects serve as medium for San Miguel to reach out to the
community to lessen the gap that it preset between private
corporations and individual citizens. Inside the company is a
different thing. While CSR is usually what is seen outside of the
company, it also has its manifestations inside. In order to
encourage employees to work harder, Ms. Camille says, San Miguel
sometimes gives awards to people who have achieved excellence in
their work Such are the following: Employee of the Year Award and
Employee of the Month Award. Benefits and other incentives are ways
to encourage and boost the companys employees to strive to be the
best. Another would be the presence of the gym. Ms. Camille
emphasized that there are people who already have their sculptures
built inside the gym! This facility promotes healthy living for the
employees, particularly the men who wanted to stay fit. San Miguel,
during the Christmas season, also holds mini bazaars and Christmas
Parties for everyone which help create a strong relationship
between employees. Parties and get-togethers such as these uphold
unity within the company.
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Ms. Camille also mentioned an opportunity to create a day care
center for the mothers who are working in the company. This will
enhance, according to her, the efficiency of the mothers since they
do not have to think and worry about their toddlers whom they left
at home with a babysitter. If the day care center would be pushed
through, mothers then will have the chance of concentrating more on
their work, and at the same time, address the necessary motherly
need of their children while at the office. Overall, San Miguel has
CSR activities which not only focuses on generating profit, but
also helps the people and the environment. This concept of the
three bottom lines should always be maintained for the company to
have a good reputation in the society at large. Stakeholder Mapping
San Miguel has a lot of CSR activities. Usually, the beneficiaries
of which are the students, those who are homeless, those who do not
eat three meals a day, those who suffer from a polluted environment
and many other. All these can be categorized into stakeholders. The
primary stakeholder and the one which is greatly affected by the
companys CSR activities would be the community itself. It would be
best that they first help the people near their company Ms. Camille
says. CSR projects conducted with respect to the location should
not only target those in the nearby community but also the other
people at a larger scale. The general public consist of the largest
among all the stakeholders thus, should be given the most
importance. The company should show that the corporation is
starting to appreciate and return the benefits it received from the
society. These projects usually start by surveying the people and
figuring out what they actually need most. This will help ensure
the business as to what projects will be conducted. This also saves
time and money for the business, making the supposed
investment/amount allotted for the
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project greater. After the survey, the department will device a
specific tactical plan that would cure the specified current
problem, may its source be the surroundings (like a waste drainage
system) or people (like a group of bandits). The project would then
be implemented after seeking the approval of the town mayor or
barangay captain. According to Ms. Camille, this last phase of
implementation is the hardest because it needs the complete
cooperation of the town officials. Another primary stakeholder that
is affected by the company directly is the employees of the
business. As mentioned earlier, the company takes care of its
employees such that they find ways on how to motivate each other,
making sure that theyd feel at home even though theyre at work.
Projects mentioned earlier such as parties and fitness activities
all create opportunities for employees to get to know each other.
The gym and other fitness facilities also provide convenience for
the weight enthusiasts. They do not need to go far just to have an
exercise for the day. All they have to do is to wait for those free
times that the company provides to get to the gym and do some
lifting. Social gatherings are for those who are shy and arent able
to reach out to other employees. All employees in San Miguel will
have equal chances, even the new employees will get to know the old
employees better. These CSR activities also help new employees be
more comfortable and feel welcomed in the company. No one gets left
behind. Each and every member is all taken care of. The government,
particularly the local government units (LGU), also play an
important role in San Miguels CSR activities. Although they are not
great affected by the projects, their consent and affirmation is
important, for without it, then the proposed projects will all come
to waste. Once the LGUs reject the proposal of the company, the
project ceases to exist. LGUs serve as mediator between the company
and the society at large.
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Overall, the company affects three stakeholders the community,
the employees and the government. Although it may also affect the
owner and other stakeholders, the three categories mentioned above
are the most visible. The community is help through different
feeding and environment healthy programs, the employees have
bonding time with each other, and the government should have a good
relationship with the company in order to fulfil the different
tasks. Issues and other Matters on CSR Projects and Programs
Corporate Social Responsibility for the San Miguel Corporation is
about self-reliance and productive communities. Moreover, CSR for
them is beyond compliance, is voluntary and is not mandated. They
also give importance to Personal Social Responsibility (PSR), a
term they coined. Aside from CSR, in which the company gives back
to the society, every employee should also have their own social
responsibility and give back even a little to the community they
belong. For the San Miguel Corporation, they consider CSR as a way
of life of both the institution and the employees. When talking
about the environmental bottom line, they have waste management
water facility and waste management. Ms. Camille Buenaventura
emphasized during the interview that San Miguel Corp. does not go
under the table, which is very remarkable for a company. They face
public hearing, public scrutiny and the like to defend their
projects and programs to different organizations and also to local
governments that will be affected by their plans. In line with the
minimalist CSR that San Miguel provides such as right wages, just
benefits and wellness program for employees, San Miguel Corporation
also engages themselves in different researches to improve their
economical products for they believe that this is also their
job.
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With this complex concept of CSR, issues and other disputable
matters are inevitable. Issues are very important to discuss
because it is one factor that can be used to measure or assess the
effectiveness of the CSR projects and programs of a corporation.
Issues can also serve as a corrective measure for a company to
consider in planning and implementing their projects. Furthermore,
the issues that will be exposed in the paper can also a test the
companys take on the triple bottom-line of corporations. During the
groups interview with the Executive Director of San Miguel
Foundation, Ms. Camille Buenaventura, the group found out that
there are issues revealed about the CSR projects and programs of
the corporation. This part of the paper will use the groups
interview with the Executive Director and also some of the
brochures and pamphlets given to the group. In the first part of
the interview when the Ms. Camille was asked by the group about San
Miguels point of view of what is CSR, she said that that the foci
of their projects are the communities. She added that they do not
like to dictate what CSR project they would implement for the
people and that their project would be a response to the need of
the community. However, the problem with this enters when she said
that they will not do anything unless there is a problem or there
is a community in need. She gave an example by mentioning a beer
plant facility they have in one province. She said that that the
people complained for the incidents of tuberculosis around that
area. With this, the San Miguel Foundation put up a medical mission
in order to answer to the needs of the civilians. The groups take
on this is that corporations have the responsibility to give back
to the society although there are no problems that needs to be
addressed. On the other side of the issue, she said something
contrary to what she mentioned first. At the last part of the
interview, she said that their CSR projects target to stop problems
from happening. He compared this to a fire situation wherein people
would tend to prevent the
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fire from happening instead of waiting for the fire to happen
and that is the only time to think about what CSR project would be
best for the community in need. When the group asked if their CSR
projects are in line with the business strategy, Ms. Camille said
that it is the case in their company. They made sure that for
example, for their food group, they will focus on health such as
community clinic. It is remarkable also in the part of the company
that they are recognized both locally and internationally as no. 1
when it comes to strategic CSR. However, the group saw
inconsistency with one of the answers for she mentioned that their
packaging business is also into feeding programs aside from their
environmental projects, which are their main target for CSR. She
said that they cannot restrict one business to focus on one thing
in terms of the CSR projects that they will implement because their
CSR projects depend on the needs of the communities. One of their
businesses is the San Miguel Global Power Corporation. They are the
ones who produce energy for Meralco and other distributors of
energy. The Executive Director laughed when she said that this
business of theirs is earning so much. They realized that power
businesses are a good venue to earn more profit. This business CSR
is scholarship program for those who aspire to be future engineers.
As mentioned by Ms. Camille, they have scholarships for three
engineering degrees namely, Mechanical Engineering, Civil
Engineering, and Electrical Engineering. This may sound impressive
at first however, the students who received the grants have to work
for the Global Power after they graduate. This can be considered as
a labor issue for they restrain the freedom of their workers to
work in other companies. This situation may also lead to future
abuses such as unjust wages and unequal treatment. Since the
graduates are tied up to the company for years, the workers will
not be able to develop themselves in their chosen sphere. But this
is not the case for all the scholarship grants given by San
Miguel
22
Corporation because for the San Miguel Foundation, they also
give scholarship grants. Unlike Global Power Corporation, their
graduates are not tied up with San Miguel. Their principle is that
if another company would hire the graduate and can give his/her
more than the basic salary that San Miguel can offer, he/she could
always choose the company. San Miguel Foundation does not want
people to say that they only give scholarship programs to look for
potential employees for the company. During the interview, the
group learned how San Miguel Corporation gives importance to the
physical well-being of their employees. In the San Miguel compound,
there is a gym where employees regularly go to exercise and be fit.
This is how they practice CSR internally. Also, when we asked about
their activities in the pipeline, Ms. Camille talked about her plan
to have a day care center. She gave Proctor and Gamble as an
example for the company won as the employer of the year by the
People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) because of
their day care center. This would address the problems of their
employees who experience difficulties when it comes to taking care
of their children. The group agreed with her when she said that
having a day care center inside their compound would increase their
productivity since working moms commonly take leaves when they have
problems with their yayas. Moreover, the group thought of this plan
as a way to empower and develop women. With this future agenda,
women would become more active and productive at work since they
will not have any personal problems when it comes to their
children. Furthermore, this would provide a healthier and more
conducive workplace knowing that the children of the employees are
secured. Another issue that the group found out during the
interview is about their mining projects and power plants. They
spent Php 900,000 to have a survey and learn about the civilians
take on their project. The company wants to know the reactions and
ideas of people about their new
23
business venture. However, the group understood that the
corporation is very concerned to understand what people thinks of
them but not that eager to learn about the consequences of their
new businesses to the environment.
Challenges and Strategies Aside from the issues found by the
group in the CSR projects of San Miguel Corporation, the
corporation also faces challenges while planning and implementing
their CSR projects. This part will briefly identify some of the
trials that faced San Miguel that can also applied to other
corporations as well as how the corporation dealt with these.
Firstly, Ms. Camille mentioned during the interview that she
encounters problems with interest articulation since San Miguel
Corporation has many businesses and each business has their
presidents, which are all members of the Board of Trustees of the
San Miguel Foundation. In finding out the most appropriate project
to do, Ms. Camille finds it hard to consolidate the variety of
issues and interests of the presidents. Some of the presidents like
to have many research but some want to have outreaches alone.
However, with all these, Ms. Camille praised their presidents for
they are very supportive and generous financially. Another
challenge they encounter is with dealing with their target
communities. Some communities are indifferent and are unsupportive
of their projects. Also, they find it hard to sometimes identify
the root problem of the community. One instance she encountered
during the early 2000 was when a community demanded them to just
give them the 1 million San Miguel allots for the CSR project. The
community residents said that instead of implementing a project,
which is useless for them, San Miguel should just distribute the
money amongst the residents. As mentioned, San Miguel Corporation
does not want to dictate any CSR project that they would
24
like to do for a community. With this, they do tons of research
methods in order to extract the root problems of the community.
When they do group interviews, they do not get a lot of information
but when they do surveys and one on one interviews, that is when
the real problem comes out. Perhaps, she said, that the problem is
either embarrassing or unknown to the people. One example she gave
was when they did a group interview and none of the residents gave
very helpful information to them. So they decided to conduct
surveys and in the surveys, they found out that there are instances
of diarrhoea in the area. With that, San Miguel decided to
establish a more efficient and effective potable water system
because the incidents root is the source of water. San Miguel does
not care if they will spend millions of pesos just to get an
information. They are willing to spend months of research and go
through the whole process for they do not want to provide
substandard projects to the communities and make sure that what
they are doing is the right thing.
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Conclusions The researchers
conducted this study in order to know the existing CSR activities
of San Miguel Corporation as well as to assess whether these
support the required guidelines of CSR. In gathering pertinent
information, the researchers set up an interview with the Executive
Director
25
of San Miguel Foundation. They also made use of brochures and
assessment reports to further know the CSR projects of SMC. In
assessing the CSR projects of the company, the researchers found
out that San Miguels CSR projects are actually aligned with their
business strategy. For instance, the food industry of the
corporation focuses on improving the health condition of poor
individuals. Their CSR projects include feeding programs, sport
festivals, and medical and dental missions. Also, San Miguels
packaging sector focuses on environmental sustainability and its
projects include cleaning programs such as Linis Ofis Program,
environmental forum, disaster management, and other environmental
initiatives. Having said all of these, the different sectors
managed by San Miguel Corporation (i.e. food, beverages, packaging
and properties) execute different CSR projects depending on the
nature of the industry but are still in line with the corporations
business strategy. Subsequently, the researchers also found out
that the corporation is meeting the terms of the triple bottom-line
which pertains to economic (profit), social (people), and
environmental (planet) responsibilities. As said in the previous
section of this report, the SMC focuses not only in generating
profit but also in improving the life of its stakeholders and
creating a sustainable environment through their CSR projects.
Through the stakeholder mapping and analysis also, the researchers
are able to know that the community, the employees of the company,
and government are the primary stakeholders of the firm. Using the
four CSR components of Carroll (1979), the researchers are able to
assess whether San Miguel Corporation are practicing the required
economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibilities. The
first component refers to the economic responsibility of the
corporation. As an international corporation and manufacturer of
different products, San Miguel
26
is able generate huge amounts of profit. This profit is the
basic necessity for the company to survive and hence, we can say
that San Miguel has actually followed the first responsibility. The
second component of CSR refers to legal responsibility. This
entails that companies pay the right amount of taxes and adhere to
the rules and regulations set by the Republic Act 7934 or what is
called the Consumer Act of the Philippines. San Miguel is complying
with this responsibility as the corporation not only pays the right
amount of taxes to the government, but they also present all the
companys expenses to the public as a sign of transparency. And when
it comes to their products, the company put labels and safety
precautions which only show that they strictly follow the rules and
regulations of the government. The next component would be the
ethical responsibility which is doing what is right, just, and
fair. As said by Ms. Buenaventura, the Executive Director of San
Miguel Foundation, the company does what is right, just and fair to
their employees as well as to their consumers through their CSR
projects and more importantly in complying with the law. The last
component of CSR is the philanthropic responsibility which means
contributing resources in order to improve the life of every
community member. San Miguel Corporation adheres to this
responsibility in their various CSR activities. Knowing all of
these, we could say that San Miguel Corporation practices the four
responsibilities of the Corporate Social Responsibility paradigm.
However, there is still a need in strengthening and maintaining the
practice of the four responsibilities. Lastly, the researchers
found out that San Miguel Corporation was able to surpass the
minimalist as well as the discretionary stage of CSR since it went
beyond of what the law requires them to do. It is now on its
strategic level of CSR because their projects had become their way
of life. The Executive Director of San Miguel Foundation said that
their Corporate Social Responsibility has now become the San
Miguels way of life and that SMC now realized
27
the importance of giving back to the society after reaping
success in their business endeavours. The researchers concluded,
after interviewing, that San Miguel Corporation is an example of a
company which practices a good CSR strategy. Nevertheless, the
researchers as well as Ms. Buenaventura said that, the corporation
still needs to formulate and execute new CSR projects in order to
further improve the quality of community life in the different
parts of the country. Policy Recommendations After looking into the
CSR projects of San Miguel Corporation, the researchers have come
up with recommendations that can help the company regarding their
CSR endeavors. First, though the company is considered as strategic
in their CSR activities as it is their way of life, being strategic
does not entail that the company is interactive. And so, San Miguel
should not only be strategic but also interactive. Being
interactive in implementing CSR activities would mean that the
company has a continuous relationship with their stakeholders
particularly the communities that are part of their CSR projects.
This continuous relationship also entails that both are capable of
acting on or influencing each other with regards to the CSR
projects and activities that San Miguel Corp., would be
spearheading. Some of their partnerships with stakeholders are
interactive especially those involving scholarship grants which are
long-term but when it comes to their short-term CSR projects, after
the project the interaction also stops. It would be beneficial if
there could be a continuous relationship between San Miguel Corp.,
the communities and their partners. They should make their CSR
projects interactive especially if it can be sustained. Second, as
stated by the Executive Director of San Miguel Foundation Camille
Buenaventura, San Miguel Corp. should provide communities with
livelihood projects that certain communities can sustain. In this
way, the company allows communities to be
28
independent and self-sustaining. This is still a challenge for
the company to be their CSR project but the Executive Director of
San Miguel Foundation is determined to pursue this endeavor in the
future. One good way that the company can do in order to pursue
this is to partner with the local government and/or NGOs. The
researchers found regarding this matter the Community Livelihood
Assistance Special Program (CLASP) of the Department of Environment
and Natural Resources (DENR). CLASP aims to help alleviate poverty
and improve the quality of life in resource-dependent communities
in various areas in the Philippines through resources that will
lead to sustainable economic and social benefits for communities,
(Forest Management Bureau, 2003). Third, the company should also
involve employees in the selection of CSR projects and the
respective communities that would be benefitted. This would help
alleviate employee engagement which improves both company and
employee performance. Such is deemed important according to
Philanthropic trends today. Fourth, San Miguel should measure the
outcomes of their CSR activities. Through this, the company would
be able to know whether their projects and activities are effective
or not. Also, they would be able to evaluate whether their CSR
endeavors actually contribute and/or contributes to the development
of communities at the present and in the long-run. And last,
Southeast Asia's largest publicly listed food, beverage and
packaging company could expand their CSR projects internationally
since their stakeholders include some parts of Asia. It is only
appropriate that San Miguel Corp. extend their help through their
Corporate Social Responsibility to the communities that consume
their product. For further studies, the researchers suggest an
in-depth analysis of the CSR projects in a specific manufacturing
industry of San Miguel Corporation. For instance, future studies to
be
29
conducted can focus on the CSR projects of the packaging
industry of SMC and cite whether their CSR activities are truly in
lined with their business strategy. Moreover, future researchers
can also assess whether the packaging industry abides with the
triple bottom-line (economic, social and environmental) as well as
the four components (economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic)
of a good Corporate Social Responsibility.
30
References Our Company. (2011). Retrieved on 17 February 2013
from http://www.sanmiguel.com.ph/corporate/company/. Home. (2011).
Retrieved on 17 February 2013 from
http://www.sanmiguel.com.ph/corporate/socres/. Social
Responsibility. (2011). Retrieved on 17 February 2013 from
http://www.sanmiguel.com.ph/corporate/socres/.
31
Appendix A (Documentation)
Ms. Camille Buenaventura, Executive Director of SMF, as she
discusses SMFs projects
The groups photo opportunity with Ms. Camille
32
Some awards garnered by SMF
33
Other citations awarded to SMF
34
Appendix B (Interview Transcription)Mel: Ms. Camille: From the
San Miguels point of view, what is CSR po? Hmmm. Ok. CSR for us its
I would use our vision and mission. We changed our vision last year
kasi during the previous years, which is for the communities ganun
ganun. But now, we included self-reliance and productive
communities coz our strength is with our communities. Actually, we
dont dictate what CSR project we would like to implement for them o
parang kme magsasabi eto gawin ninyo. In our case, uhm we make it a
point that the projects we would like to go into, its a response to
their need. So for us its actually a compliance coz when we talk
about compliance, ok nagbabayad ka ng tamang tax, nagpapasweldo ka
ng maayos, or sumusunod ka sa government regulatory. Well, that is
the minimum eh, that is expected of the business but if you go
beyond that, if you go to the communities and give them what,
sorry, what the government cannot provide. Eh diba the government
can only do so much eh kasi onti lng namanmaraming pondo but I
think the allocation is the problem so uhm ang sa amin is building
self-reliant and productive communities and at the same time for
me, personally, CSR is beyond compliance. CSR is voluntary, its not
mandated, in fact that is one of the things I thoughtsa Congress
hearing kasiMona is our program officer, here is our report for
2011, its kinda old but the projects are still there and articles
on CSR. So thats it, thats how we see CSR So Miss, by the way Im
Krishna Hi Krishna Do you think that your CSR programs or
activities are in line with your business strategy and how? Oh
yeah, number 1, we make it a point that when we do CSR projects,
its actually the strength of one business. We have flashy programs
I could mention one. Obviously, for the food group, what is the
best CSR program? Its the nutrition and feeding program, thats
where we go. For our beer business, its on health kasi diba ang
community clinic kami, andyan yan (pointing to the brochures) for
our group, kasi andito yung planta mo, andito yung community mo,
palagi saming binabato oi, dumadami ung incidents ng tuberculosis
and honestly, theres no proven data on that but still we, o cge
lets come up with a community clinic coz we see that our beer
business and our beer plant facilities are one of the critical
facilities. What else, in line with our business, uhm ang San
Miguel kasi, we won sa Alpha publishing ng Hongkong. Actually, we
were surprised that we were mentioned as no. 1 when it comes to
strategic CSR now they call it business continuity alam mo ang dami
na natatawa ako kasi just the other day, Friday, may pumunta from
Malaysia, shes a doctor and she interviewed me on disaster tapos
tinanong niya do you have business continuity program? anung
sasabihin ko sa isip ko lang. You know its a new jargon but weve
been doing that, the Philippines has been doing that and sabi ko
nga, in the Phillippines, we call it strategic CSR. And galling
lang na marami nang matalino na kung anu-ano na bagong coined
technical terms and jargon but weve been doing that for years and
ang San Miguel we want to make sure we dont want na pumasok kami in
things we dont know ike in the case of housing. Before, of 35
Krishna: Ms. Camille: Krishna: Ms. Camille:
course, our partners are Habitat for Humanity and Gawad Kalinga
but we dont rely on our partners alone. When we look at the areas
kung saan kami magtatayo ng bahay, we have our own geologist kasi
diba parang, we trust naman our partners but its just that we want
our own people to see na ito bang paglilipatan ng mga tao, are
really safe for them, they will not experience the same thing, the
flooding, the whatever. Also, yung packaging business naming, whn
you think of CSR, you think also of course the vision of the CEO of
the company kasi marami kaming mga presidente. All these division
presidents are members of the Board of San Miguel Foundation. Some
of them really want an integrated business CSR, some of them just
wanted really outreach. You know iba-iba eh kung anong feel nila.
Minsan, its really what they want and for packaging business, of
cour se no. 1 is sabi nga nila environment, sila un. Pero may
feeding din sila, why? Coz one of the plants, Pandacan plant for
packaging, theyre into plastic, mga lalagyan ng mga products is
situated in the Pandacan area and you know naman, yeah in Manila.
It s thickly populated area and dun paglabas mo pa lang, marami
nang mga batang maliliit na nagtatakbuhan so may feeding program
kme dun. So we really cannot dictate uhm kung ikaw hardcore lang
tayo, pag packaging ka environment ka lang , hindi pwede coz yo u
have communities that you have to answer their needs like un nga.
Again, our packaging business dapat feeding food group lang yan ,
hindi rin kasi sa beer group lahat ng planta din sa labas may
feeding not as huge as thousands like the food group sila nga, 35
kids, ganun lang. ----someone called her in her phone---Also our
Global Power. Meron din kaming San Miguel Global Power Corporation.
Sila ung IPPA when I talk about Independent Power Producers
Administrator. Pag may planta ka, yung planta sila yung gumagawa ng
power pero sino nagbebenta, yung San Miguel Global. Sila yung
nagbebenta sa Meralco, sa distributors, sila yung nagbebenta sa mga
electric cooperatives, we have that group. That group right now is
earning so much *laughs*. Ang power business pala maganda pala yung
kita. On our Global Power, kailangan naman nila are engineers so
their CSR program is into scholarship of engineering students,
electrical, civil and may isa pa so tatlo yang.mechanical. so
silang tatlo yun. So its in line with the business. But we always
say na parang dun sa ibang scholarship naming naman compared sa
Global Power kaya matatawa kayo sa parang, ok so wed always say na
oh we have scholars but we dont want them to be tied up with San
Miguel, if somebody would hire you and give you more than the basic
salary that San Miguel can give you, you could always apply to
other. Ayaw naming kasi na parang pinagaral naming kayo ng two
years so you have to work for us. Pagdating naman sa Global dapat
samin kayo so sabi namin ok nagswiswitch kami. Dati medyo, how will
I say the word, hardcore kami when it comes to hndi eto dapat dapat
iisa lang. you cant do that when youre handling a conglomerate like
San Miguel kasi iba -ibang business, iba-iba talaga yung
pangangailangan. So thats how we do it. So thats how San Miguel
Foundation.. so I have to prepare prior to a meeting kasi I might
be talking about a policy of one of the businesses wherein dapat
eto yung so we make it a point that its really strategic CSR, in
line with the business, strength of the company that we are
helping. 36
Mel: Ms. Camille:
So Miss, is it safe to say that your CSR activities or projects,
(they) comply with what is needed by the circumstance? Oh yes, yes.
That should be the case with CSR. And, okay, when we talk about CSR
, eto nanaman ako pasensya na nagiging professor ako kasi I used to
be a professor in Ateneo of CSR pero hindi ko kaya magturo dahil
grabe ang preparations! (laughs) Kaya you, you should appreciate
your professors ha; thats the only time I appreciate my professor
(laughs) kasi ang hirap pala, you know its, uhm, I would sleep at
tweleve and wake up at five because I have to be ready with all
these materials, it is not that easy to teach, that I tell you, its
not, so parang ako after that sem sabi ng Ateneo said Sige pa, sige
pa. Ako no, no kahit Sabado lang siya, you know, but maybe Ill go
there again. Uhm, CSR is not just helping the community. When you
talk about CSR, internally you have your CSR, you have your
employees, human resource, and when you give them the right sweldo,
the right benefits, if you have the wellness program in your
company, if you are a child-friendly company, those are CSR within,
internal. And then when you is your quality, okay, quality
management; when you give your client the best products that it has
gone through several research you know, to give the best economical
product, that is CSR. When you give contracts so the supplier to
comply with the (with the) standards environmental standards then
that is CSR. On the environment side, may waste management water
facility ba kayo? Nagsesegregate ba kayo inside the company? That
is CSR. And what we are talking right now is CSR outside of the
company. So, thats (thats) what CSR is. We comply, uhm, when we
talk about CSR sa (ibang)labas ng kumpanya, its (its), yes its safe
to say that, uh, ah, what (what) were doing is that we answer to
the needs of the community. It shouldnt be kasi when you pag nag...
alam ko naman yung mga bata last Monday nag-panelist naman ako sa
may ST. Paul parang sabi ko Obvious nag-Google lang kayo! (laughs)
nag Google lang kayo! Please come up with an analytical thinking
and logical.. you know yung mga bata. Its uhm, kaya kayo wag kayong
ano ha, pag nag gu-Google kayo wag obvious. So... (laughs) Alam ko
naman yun, yung anak ko just graduated from college so yun yung
sinasabi ko. Pag tiningnan ninyo what is community development,
what is community relations, what is CSR, its actually (ansing)
answering the need of your community. Its not just because you have
the money and you do it! You know maraming kumpanyang ganyan and
uhm, most often than not, nagiging failure ang mga projects kasi
(kasi) sasabihin ng mga tao Eh hindi naman namin hinihingi yan eh.
Kayo ang nagsabi sa amin eh. Kami hindi ganun. Ako I would always,
kahapon I had a meeting with my team sabi ko sa kanila Let us do it
this way. Well make it the traditional way. And what is the
traditional way? Ako, ang ginagawa ko, medyo may fusion, may fusion
ako sa grupo ko. Meron akong traditional. I would go to the
community, come up with a survey, know the demographics, in the
demographics you have to know the profile, who is the head of the
family etc. etc, what do they know, what they would like to know,
what are the resources in the community, what could they
contribute, who are the perceived leaders. I would go through that
survey. Nevermind if it would take me a month to get that. And that
I would validate that with the community and together with the
community we would identify projects. Kasi you know one community
recently lang na inayos namin is that when we talked to them, uhm,
hindi lumalabas yung isang project which is potable water system
and, uh, and as a 37
cause of not having, alam niyo sa bukal lang, spring water lang,
andami talagang incidents of diarrhea. Pero during naman the
dialogue hindi naman kinwento. So nung nagpasurvey ako lumabas
talaga yun. Number one cause is uh, yung mga, ng mga sakit, uhm, is
diarrhea. Tapos water source, lumabas water source. So ngayon, alam
na namin. So isa sa mga priority ko ngayon is to come up with a
potable water system. So see, its, thats the beauty of it. Minsan
ang tao would be Ay nahihiya kami kasi sasabihin mo ba naman na,
sorry, maraming nag tatae samin. Pero hindi ko naman masasabi yun.
May mga ganun. Diyahe! (laughs) Pero once you interview them na one
on one. Halimbawa tayo lang dalawa, ako yung nagiinterview, ako
yung numerator, nasusulat, nasasabi mo... so lumalabas. Thats how
we do it. I dont know the other companies whos doing it. Pero ako,
sabi ko, never mind if were spending thousands of pesos for that.
Uhm, I would go to the process just to be sure, you, know, that we
are doing the right thing. And at the end of the day hindi kami
masasabihan ng mga tao na, kasi before may mga tao na nagsabi
Magkano gagastusin niyo? Edi sasabihin one million po. One million?
Eh ilan kaming pamilya? Isang daan? Paghati-hatian na lang namin
[iyang] one million. We encounter that. We encounter that. That was
in the early 2000s. Ngayon hindi na, hindi na namin naeencounter.
Ganun talaga di ba. Ang tao easy money. Lalo na pag sa. Pag bababa
ka sa communities... sabi ko nga sa inyo some would say Papakahirap
pa tayo may pero ka naman pala diyan, ipamigay mo na lang sa amin.
Kami na lang bahala. Kami na lang bahala. Mel: Ms. Camille: Miss
kanina, you talked about, like your employee... so is you CSR,
internally, equally active, as your eternal CSR? Uh, yes. Uhm,
actually nakakatuwa. Aware na rin ang aming HR on that kasi, infact
even during CSR expo, even our HR peole would attend. Haha. Minsan
nga nao-off ako. Most of the topics are on the community, and
environment, global warming, during expo. Pero ngayon meron nang HR
people doing that, meron kaming parang minsan before every month.
One Friday in a month meron kaming mga, ano yun, mga pag Fridays
yung parang, yung parang, meron kami nung may mga yung sports bar.
Yung canteen namin will have a sport.. thats part of it. Para
balansiyado di ba. They are working at the same time meron ka pang
oo. Misnsan parang nao-OAan ako (laughs). Parang minsan, Okay,
meron tayong Haloween gaunun. May ganun. (laughs). Pero kinacareer.
Di ba? Meron kaming Bank of commerce is there, Ginebra is there,
ang laki eh. Petron is at the basement, ground floor, first floor.
So talagang kinacareer. And you know, the competition tuloy ang
nangyayari, sabi nga namin, Nakakatulong ba to? (laughs) Parang
sila nagtataguan sila lalo na nung Christmas party, uhm, ano naman,
Christmas party was break... ah, no no no no, uh, hip hop. Hip hop
na parang merong theme na parang Arabian nights something. Sabi nga
namin imbis nga ata na mag-foster ng camaraderie (laughs). But you
know at the end of the day we still see it as something really
healthy for all of us. Kasi, like, uhm, pag nakita mo, uy, parang
nag-aaway na sila, pero within (within) the (the) company, like in
the case of my daughter sa Ginebra siya, ang dami niyang nakilala
from other kasi shes new, five, nung sumali siya two months palang
ata, three months. So parang daig pa niya yung mga old employees
kasi . . . because of that, marami siyang nakilala from the inside.
Also, we have, like last 38
Christmas community outreach its the day after the Christmas
Party; so you could just imagine, nakakatuwa, but obviously, in
your age, mga bagets pa ung mga umattend, kasi para sa mga
matatanda . . . ako nandun, coz I have to be there . . . coz this
is an outreach, pero konti lng ung matatanda na umattend, and sabi
ko my gosh . . . 12 oclock natapos ung Christmas party, then 6
oclock off kami to Palawan Laguna. So we have that and it feels
good. Um, internally also, ang CSR . . . the company is paying us
well, the benefits are good, you know, pag ganyan, our management
is very generous. But on the wellness program we have a gym, ung
iba, parang meron na silang rebulto sa gym, parang ilang years na
sila . . . na sila parati ung nandun sa gym,kaya ngayon . . . dati
ung gym namin is only in the afternoon, ngayon meron nang morning
at lunchtime, bukas na siya, and also in the evening. Kasi andami
dami ng empleyado eh. So thats how we have CSR internally on the HR
side. I think they have a very good program right now, compared to
before. Theres one thing, you know . . .I wouldnt be a beneficiary
. . . Ung isang pinauusapan namin kahapon sa ladies room, kasi
every morning, I remember, I talk with the young moms. Kasi were
San Miguel foundations, at paikot namin ay ang corporate affairs,
and were talking about yayas and wala nanaman sila, at sabi kong
ganun, you know, ang tagal tagal ko ng sinasabi to, maliit pa ung
anak ko, right now my daughter is working na, I have been wishing
that we should have a day care center, you know, its something
really . . . kasi I remember P&G, Proctor and Gamble. They won
before as employer of the year ng PMAP, people management
association, because of their daycare center. And before ko pa
sinasabi un, and sana ung isa sa amin may daycare, kasi it will
help productivity of the mommies on leave . . . saying why dont you
just have one person there na mag-aalaga . . . Thats one thing that
I . . . sabi ko nga kahapon sige na miss . . . Sa U.S. maraming may
ganyan eh, I think also, dapat sa Pilipinas may ganyan . . . its
women in development. We should be gender sensitive about it, Im
not a hardcore feminist, but I know how hard it is for a working
moms, mas mahirap for us compared to . . . ako hindi na eh, ung
anak ko malaki na . . . I could feel for those na every morning . .
. my gosh, ung pag-uusapan is about the yaya . . . sabi ko
something must be done about this. Un lang ung gusto ko sanang
meron kami. Pero otherwise, the rest, I think here in San Miguel,
we have a work-right balance . . . ang sa empleyado nalang kung
gusto mong maging involved . . . ako kasi Im always on the field,
and every time theres a big celebration, Im on the field,
nagkakataon talaga, pero pag meron namang opportunity bumababa
naman ako. We have tiangge every Christmas season. Alam mo na yan
pag sinabi na okay, reserve for your stall . . . Uy, the day before
nyan meron na tayong bonus. The employees and relatives can sell .
. . makikita mo ang daming empleyado, tapos hanggang alas dose . .
. marami kami dyan sa labas. Abby: Ms. Camille: So with that, you
can see CSR as a way of life? It is. It should be a way of life.
Meron kaming ki-noin (coined) na word . . . I am also the vice
chair of the league of corporate foundations . . . theres CSR and
PSR. Personal Social Responsibility, we use that term. For
corporate, it should be. Its our way of giving back to our clients,
to the patron of Ginebra San Miguel, of beer, of those using your
electricity, kahit na kailangan yan diba, given yan eh . . . but it
should be a way of life. At the same time, personally, we should do
our own social responsibility. Its our own PSR. 39
Dapat kahit in the little way that we can, we should give back.
It doesnt have to be naman . . . halimbawa meron bagyo, tulong
kaagad . . . helping your kasambahay, you know, helping the kids sa
labas ng bahay mo . . . I remember I received this Christmas gift .
. . sikat na tao, syempre pag sikat na tao ang iisipin mo . . . ang
binigay nya sakin . . . very galling talaga, kokopyahin ko to,
sinabi ko sa kanya . . . kasi you know what she gave me, its a bag
of loot bags . . . iba -iba, marong puro candy,may isang loot bag
na clips . . . meron syang letter. Nakalagay dun sa letter: Put
this inside your car, so every time during that Christmas season,
every time a kid knocks on your window, bibigay mo sa kanya . . .
wow . . . until now nagoo-goosebumps ako. Kasi diba . . . its
something really . . . siguro inisip nila, anu ung ibibigay ko sa
babaeing ito . . . eh ako naman, kahit ano masaya na ako eh. Nung
tinitignan ko nga uy, gusto ko ung ipit! Pero, diba, these are
things that . . . on our own initiative. We have our own personal
social responsibility and ako . . . kayong mga bata . . . parang in
your bag, you have to put some biscuits so that when kids approach
you, dont give them money . . . ako, pag minsan nagdridrive ako,
tapos may ganyan . . . sa isip ko, kasi . . . pasensya na, trabaho
ko to, pero pinipigilan ko ang sarili ko to give anything na pera.
Kasi kung wala akong maibibigay, I wouldnt give money talaga, alam
ko naman sindikato un eh . . . talagang pipigilan mo ung sarili mo
. . . but if you have that something . . . ako natuwa nga ako eh,
kasi ung bata crossing shaw . . . kasama ko ung anak ko nun, tapos
nagtigil . . . binigyan ko ung isang bata . . . Ben 10 na cheap
lang, ung binili ko sa divisoria, un kasama un sa bag. It shouldnt
be . . . it shouldnt be original, pwede ung mga nabibili mo sa
divisoria or kahit saan. Tapos binigyan ko sya. Sabi ng daughter ko
Ma, wallet lang yun, wala tayong food. You get some food And then I
think meron kaming tikoy, and then binigay . . . ung bata takbo
kaagad sa nanay nya tapos ipinakita niya . . . tuwang tuwa siya,
tuwang tuwa siya dun sa wallet, alam mo naman ung mga bata . . .
tapos tinuro pa niya ung kotse. So it should be our way of life,
you know, its . . . sabi nga nila, dito palang sa lupa, nag-iipon
na tayo, para pagdating mo sa langit, mas madali ka kung malagay ka
man sa purgatorio, mabilis ka nang makapunta sa langit. We should
do that, and it feels good when you help people, you can sleep well
at night. It should be our way of life. (ang dami kong nakwento sa
inyo, sorry, Im really madaldal, ewan ko, nagging personal akong
masyado sa inyo.) Okay, next? Krishna: Ms. Camille: Miss, can you
give us a concrete CSR project? Actually, you can look there
nalang. Those are our concrete CSr projects. These are , more or
less, projects naming that we do every year. Ill show this to you .
. . Eto na un gaming mission vision . . . So miss, this is the new
. . . This is the annual report of 2011. Our 2012 kasi, we just
prepared . . . you need 2012?
Abby: Ms. Camille:
(handed the 2011 CSR report of San Miguel) It's actually the
same... Ron: What are your activities in the pipeline?
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Ms. Camille:
We're looking at another housing project we just went there last
January in Compostella Valley we talked to the Governor, 1000
houses. We have projects also for the Pablo victims, agricultural
enterprise project where farmers we're going to give them seedlings
so they could plant them like cassava, corn, 10,000 per family.with
this project we are partners with PLDT, Jollibee Corp, San
Miguel.Also, though it's not in the pipeline we've been doing it a
community clinic in Mandaue, Cebu. This is an urgent project.
Project in Tawi-Tawi though our security in threatened we can still
partner with NGOs to pursue with our projects. It should not stop
us from helping our countrymen. Walang kasing tumutulong because
people fear for their lives. It's about time we go there. Also an
agri-project. Our new business in on Mining. It's really
challenging to put up the powerplant. So we spent 900,000 for a
survey to know the reaction and ideas of people about our new
business. We really want to know everything. 2013 is an exciting
year for CSR because of the new businesses. Some mining groups
really look up to us and consider us as their champions. They want
to consult with me regarding their business. We advise them on what
to say, what not to say, whom to accept invitation from, etc. One
casing point is when the Diocese of Bataan invited us and one of us
said that we decline it because we might just be interrogated but I
said we should go. We have to answer because we're going through
the process anyway, we'll get the permit, we'll get people. To put
it on record San Miguel is one of those companies that don't go "
under the table". We really face public hearing, public scrutiny
and the like. I wanted the company/foundation information campaign
where people can ask questions. So that people won't tell and
assume that we're hiding something. We have nothing to lose but
more to gain. I suggest you do the same thing kasi wala ka naman
talagang tinatago, we want the people to know what youre doing and
sabihin mo pero pag naman tatlong beses na parang anon a to, too
obvious na. yun ang talaga and para kang ano,para kang tinapon sa
dungeon. Bahala ka dyan. Thats how I see it on the standpoint of
uhh. kasi diba there is a thin line between public relations and
CSR pagtiningan mo eh pero sabi ko nga these are things na kelangan
talaga. Ang PR ano yun eh sige, ang CSR naman. When you talk about
CSR, until the end of the day you still want a good result. Ang PR
bahala na, its actually fire-fighting. Ang CSR before the fire
dapat walang magyaring fire, dapat naaddress mo na agad yun. On the
23rd of February on La Salle of Bacolod, they have a CSR Congress.
Kayo ba may CSR Congress sa UA&P? I think thats one thing that
you should have . Kasi yung La Salle is second time na. The first
time was years ago and tapos nag-invite ulit sila sa 23. Buti na
lang pagganyan I would normally say no because its Bacolod and
magastos. Pero pag ganyan, every opportunity I hand it over to my
cotrustees or the other trustees of this league corporate
foundation. I received several interviews from different schools
and its always like that, kapag second sem. of the year, palaging
maraming interviews left and right and some of the businesses, my
co-trustees would say na dagdag pa sa oras natin yan. But I said
that this is an opportunity for the students to know what we are
doing and for them to appreciate CSR, for them to know that there
is a career in CSR. Ako Im a business graduate as well as the other
2 people in my team, yung isa psychology graduate and yung last is
mass communication. Wala kaming social worker background. Yun yung
gusto kong sabihin sa kanila, na they 41
Ms. Camille:
should accept invitation because I know it, I also have a
daughter and I dont want the same thing to happen to my daughter.
Yung nirereject ng prof. I dont want that to happen. You do good
and you also reap something good in return, yun din ang sinabi ko
sa mga kasama ko. Maganda and line-up ng La Salle and I suggest
that you also do that in university. Simple lang naman yun, come up
with a theme and come up with an interview, ang daming pwedeng
gawin. It is also a venue for the students to ask about anything
regarding the company, sana your professor can do it. Iniisip ko
magturo nga ulit ng CSR, magsusulat nga ako sa UA&P. So what
else? Mel: Miss, last question. Personally, from your own point of
view, are you satisfied with the CSR projects and also in general,
the corporates viewpoint if they are satisfied with the projects of
San Miguel. And if ever, theyre not that satisfied, what do you
think are the points for improvement? Am I satisfied? Alam mo yung
coming from a NGO, sa NGO ako nagtrabaho beforePhilippine Business
for Social Process. If you want to check my biodata you can check
the LCF website. I used to work in NGO and I would always say na
masarap ag araw na wala na tayong trabaho, kasi yung araw na walang
trabaho ay yun ang araw kung saan lahat ng tao ay okay na, wala
nang problema. In terms of the CSR that we are doing, I hope that
we can do much more, ang daming nangangailan ng tulong. Ang
nakakapanghinayang lang is when the people youre helping only think
of San Miguel pera-pera lang at dun ako nahihirapan kaya hindi kami
magroon ng livelihood projects. Di ako makatuloy kapag may seed
capital, yung bibigyan mo sila ng puhunan with zero interest fee
tapos sasabihin nila ui, wag na nating bayaran yan, San Miguel
naman yan. Yun nga, sino nga kami, mahahabol ba namin sila, were
not banks. We are here to help them so if they cannot pay eh wala
naman silang pananagutan sa amin. Sa aspetong yun, feeling ko, sana
makagawa kami ng paraan, dun ako hindi satisfied. But otherwise it,
personally, if you are satisfied with what youre doing, you will
stop because youre happy na of what youre doing. Pero hindi eh,
andami pa ring mga bata na kelangan mong pakainin, hindi lang basta
papakainin kundi bibigyan mo ng nutritious food. Marami pa ring
eskwelahan na kulang, sabi nga ni Bro. Arni, kulang pa tayo sa
school buildings. Marami pa ang tao na nasira ang bahay at hindi
makapagpatayo ng bahay so you really cannot be satisfied when youre
in this kind of work. Hanggang retire na ako at may apo na ako,
baka hindi pa rin ako satisfied kasi habang may pangangailangan,
gusto mo pa rin tumulong. Is the company satisfied? I hope theyre
satisfied. You know, were still here and every year mas tumataas
naman ang budget ng foundation. And every year, they would see us
ohh lets ask the help of San Miguel Foundation_that I am really
very happy because they see the foundation as not just a cash-card
that you just get money but they see us as an asset for the
company. Kasi kumpara sa ibang foundation, kami kasi humaharap sa
public hearing. Nagulat ako nung prinesent ko to dun sa kasama ko
sa LCF, sabi nya bakit ikaw ang humaharap sa public hearing eh dib
a trabaho yan ng environment officer ng company or trabaho yun
complaisance officer or trabaho yan ng operations group ? Sabi ko
hindi, who can talk about what the company is doing in terms of CSR
is the foundation. Who could make kwento about war stories in the
field kung hindi foundation kaya ako noong nag-umpisa kami, we were
just for funds 42
Ms. Camille:
foundation, its a donor foundation. Ang daming partners kaliwat
kanan. Actually, last week Im looking into the old annual reports,
bawat project may partner. Ang ginagawa ng San Miguel nagbibigay ng
pera ngayon ang sabi ko sa kanila we have to know our clients, we
have to know our partners and the only way we could do that is to
go on field. Ako Im happy when the five of us are here, nagpapakain
ako. But that is not our job, our job is in the community, we have
to go down. And with that siguro, nakakatulong to give satisfaction
to our businesses. Ako natutuwa kung theres somebody in the planta
sa probinsya na pupunta at ang parking area nila ay sa amin. It
feels good kasi they see us na somebody na pwedeng puntahanan and
kelangan makita nila and not just to talk about trabaho but also
chika-chika and weve gone close to them already. With that, I think
that the company is satisfied in what we are doing. Me, personally,
ang dami pang pwedeng gawin. If I say that Im okay already, I would
stop kasi okay na ako and happy na ako. Pero siguro ganun talaga
when your in this kind of career, you shouldnt stop eh kasi if
youll stop, tigil na rin ang matutulungan mo. And not of course
hindi rin titigil kasi there are others who will continue your
work, pero wala ka na noong passion,wala nag fire. Yun yung
kelangan na meron ka kaya ako I think kaya rin siguro ako masaya
kasi this is what I really wanted. Im 46 years old but Ive been
working with San Miguel for 18 years and 24 years in this kind of
trabaho. Nagsawa ba ako? Minsan nakakafrustrate and I must admit
because minsan kasi when you go to the community you give your hand
pero hindi lang yun, they are asking for your arm and your whole
body for it. The others are telling me bigay nyo na lang samin ang
pera, umalis na kayo. Thats really frustrating. But you know, at
the end of the day, may iba pang pwedeng gawin. So thats it.
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