Malampaya gas project empowers women, workers

MANILA, Philippines - The Malampaya deep water gas-to-power project phase 3 (MP3) has launched skills training programs in Subic for some of the most important sectors of society  women and workers on the road, particularly traffic enforcers and public utility vehicle drivers such as tricycle drivers.

Subic is the site of Keppel Subic Shipyard, where the MP3 Depletion Compression Platform is being constructed. A Subic Social Baseline Study commissioned by the Shell Philippines Exploration, B.V. (SPEX) MP3 Project team was able to define the social environment of the project, and assisted in identifying social investment programs that would benefit nearby communities as well as cater best to the project’s needs.

Promoting road safety

Through the Malampaya Foundation Inc. (MFI), MP3 launched a social investment program to promote road safety called Project Kalsada or “Kaligtasan sa Daan” to address the problem of rampant road accidents, which is the fourth leading cause of death in the Philippines according to the Department of Health.

Recognizing that the tricycle is a major transportation mode in the area, Kalsada’s road safety workshops were particularly geared for tricycle drivers – training them on defensive driving and teaching safer driving behaviours and practices. 

The series of trainings started last July at Barangay Wawandue, Subic Town with Safe-T-Ryders as trainer and resource. MFI also conducts the Kalsada workshops in partnership with the Land Transportation Office-Law Enforcement Traffic Adjudication System in Olongapo and the Provincial Highway Patrol Group-Zambales.

Empowering women

The Subic Social Baseline Study also showed that there is a need to enhance livelihood opportunities for women, hence Project Ganda, or “Galing at Negosyo, Dulot ay Asenso” was implemented.

Ganda, in partnership with Subiceña and the Subic local government, provides capacity-building trainings for mothers and single women to help them obtain employment or venture into their own business enterprise. Ganda conducts trainings on personal grooming, culinary arts, food processing, sewing, product development and other trainings.

"This program is certainly a big help to making women in the communities more productive and helping improve the family income," said Subiceña civic group president Eloisa Khonghun.  

Powering inclusive growth

Shell, as a global leader in power, energy, and gas technology, continuously works to meet increasing energy demand and supply challenges by delivering smarter products and cleaner energy, smarter infrastructure, promoting smarter use, and by developing new energy sources while addressing the impact on the environment, through cleaner burning-natural gas and advanced fuels and lubricants technology.

Project Kalsada and Ganda are part of the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project’s goal to fuel inclusive growth besides supplying the country’s energy needs with natural gas – a cleaner source of power.

MFI’s social investment and developments programs are funded by Malampaya Phases 2 (MP2) and 3, the Gas Project’s next stages of development.  

The Malampaya Gas Project aims to broaden the Philippines’ energy mix by introducing the benefits of natural gas production. Natural gas is the fuel for sustainable growth and development as it is the cleanest-burning fossil fuel with a globally abundant and diverse supply.