Corporate social work is alive and well

Shortly before the election, Manny Pangilinan wrote to react to a column item on PBSP. That is the Philippine Business for Social Progress and Manny is the incumbent chairman. I wrote in that column that perhaps, the best way to jumpstart a concerted private-public sector effort to fight poverty is to get the corporate sector very involved. And I wondered whatever happened to the PBSP, the corporate sector’s response to the social ills exposed by the First Quarter Storm in 1969.

Well, Manny thanked me for remembering PBSP and he assures me that PBSP is alive and still very much active in fighting poverty. Manny wrote that for the past 30 years, "PBSP quietly built on its earlier successes (such as the relatively small Sambahayan project you mentioned) to take on even larger and more ambitious programs involving thousands of marginalized families." In fact, Manny points out that PBSP has extended more than P1.6 billion to fund more than 4,400 projects that directly benefited more than 2.2 million households nationwide."

The PBSP undertakes these projects under their Area Resource Management (ARM) program that is now ongoing in 13 provinces. ARM was devised by PBSP as a long-term integrated development approach that addresses socio-economic and environmental problems of communities. These "packages" involve community organizing, cooperative building, enterprise development, sustainable agriculture with appropriate technology, social credit, health and water services and environmental protection and management.

More specifically, PBSP undertook these projects in Cebu (five upland barangays), Bohol (three rice farming municipalities), Samar (eight coastal fishing villages), Davao Sur (500 marginalized upland families), North Cotabato (8,000 lowland farmers) and Ragay Gulf (35 coastal barangays in Quezon province).

PBSP also has a Small and Medium Credit program which has lent more than P1.7 billion to more than 7,000 small, medium and micro enterprises. SMEC has created more than 12,000 new jobs while sustaining more than 47,000 existing jobs. PBSP has also delivered relief, livelihood and housing for hundreds of families displaced by Mt. Pinatubo’s lahar plus livelihood assistance, relief and rehabilitation to over 2,000 families affected by the Baguio earthquake, the Mindoro earthquake and several typhoons.

PBSP has also assisted the corporate sector to get involved in such activities as the upgrading of science and math education for public schools through its teacher training programs, the drive to provide poor public high schools with science and computer laboratories.

Manny also assures me that it is the policy of PBSP to keep its administrative costs down. For every peso the foundation generates, 80 centavos goes directly to programs. I made a comment wondering if they are spending more on overhead than project costs. I will take Manny's word on it for now.

Manny says they are aware that very few know of what PBSP is doing. That’s because the PBSP board made a policy to keep a low profile. I don’t understand that at all. In fact, it is obvious today, that such a policy is kinda stupid, if it is true they are doing as much as they say they are.

Without overdramatizing what they are doing, there is a need for PBSP to talk about their projects, specially the success stories, so these could be replicated. It is also necessary to let the people know they are actively fighting poverty on many fronts. This is a kind of moral boost for the poor, knowing people actually care. It provides hope that someday, it is possible that PBSP or similar organizations will get to them to also help them break out of poverty.

On housing, Manny writes that what they have done "is a drop in the bucket compared to the magnitude of the country’s urban housing problem." But he rightly points out, "PBSP had to start somewhere and create some ripples of change." More specificially, he wrote:

"You proposed that if PBSP concentrated on housing, much could have been achieved. You are right. We have continued to help the urban poor with integrated housing programs that have been implemented in seven former squatter colonies in Metro Manila. These provided land tenure, livelihood, credit, water, electricity, roads, drainage, organizational development, training and housing materials to hundreds of urban poor families."

PBSP’s philosophy, Manny points out, is to help people help themselves. They stress self-help programs instead of doleouts to the poor. He says that PBSP’s 30-year experience in development work has proven time and again that this approach yields more sustainable results. "In fact, many of our program designs and methodologies have been mainstreamed by government agencies and other NGOs here and abroad." As I said, all the more reason to let people know about them.

Finally, Manny assures that PBSP staff will continue to do their work with passion and commitment and that the present board drives hard to keep alive the vision of our founding members. "We wish to see your column as a challenge to reflect on our focus, specially because of what happened last May 1."

As far as I am concerned, I am glad to hear that we still have a PBSP to use in a larger, more significant anti-poverty drive. We have three decades of experience to help us do things that have immediate and lasting impact. Maybe PBSP has spread itself thin. Maybe a little more focus will help. And it is reassuring that its current chairman is someone as dynamic as Manny P.

Hopefully, we can get more from the private business sector active in the anti-poverty projects. Remember that our economy’s growth depends on giving our vast underclass buying power to improve the quality of their lives. Let us not wait for another outburst of violence arising from the desperation and frustration of the poor.

New definitions

Here are a few definitions compiled by Dr. Ernie E.

Father: A banker provided by nature.

Boss: Someone who is early when you are late and late when you are early.

Smile: A curve that can set a lot of things straight.

Rumor: News that travels at the speed of sound.

Office: A place where you can relax after your strenuous homelife.

Etc.: A sign to make others believe that you know more than you actually do.

Committee: Individuals who can do nothing individually and sit to decide that nothing can be done together.

(Boo Chancco’s e-mail address is [email protected])