MANILA, Philippines - Sixty-five grueling kilometers of hairpin curves, uphill and downhill ride, narrow and rough roads — this was the scenario faced by almost 500 bikers when they joined the biggest Globe Cordillera Challenge ever, the anchor corporate social responsibility program of Globe Telecom in Benguet.
The Globe Cordillera Challenge is an environmental campaign spearheaded by leading telecommunications provider Globe Telecom to elevate the public’s awareness about the importance of the Cordillera region, long considered a vital catch basin for rain water and important water channel for most of Luzon’s major rivers that provides the water needs of people in low-lying areas.
But though this year’s trail was a test to the stamina as it took the bikers down to some of the deepest valleys and through the ridges that comprise the Cordillera mountain range, those who were able to complete the loop were rewarded with scenic views of lush vegetable gardens, towering pine trees, majestic mountains, and the picturesque dams of Binga and Ambuklao which dotted the Benguet landscape.
Seventeen-year old Xy James Dacayanan emerged as the fastest biker, having completed the trail in three hours and 44 minutes. James also placed second overall in the Globe Cordillera Challenge last year, his first attempt in joining such a biking event.
An environmental advocate himself, James voluntarily joins tree-planting activities and has even participated in the protest against the controversial cutting of trees in his own hometown Baguio City.
Now in its fourth year, Globe Cordillera Challenge also raised an unparalleled amount of P1 million for its partner organization Cordillera Conservation Trust (CCT), with P300,000 more in pledges. The funds will be used for the building of 30 seedling nurseries under CCT’s Roots and Shoots program. Creating the nurseries not only allows for the expansion of forest building practices to the youth and the communities but also provides on site production areas for forest building.
Aside from producing seedlings for forest building, Roots and Shoots also serves as a venue for educating the young on the importance of the forests by having them play an active role in the rebuilding efforts. Eventually, Roots and Shoots expects to create protected mother forests around the community from which they could obtain seeds to propagate the next generation of forests.
The seedling nurseries are also part of the Community of Practice (CoP) being implemented in the Cordilleras by Globe through Globe Bridging Communities.
“CoP is BridgeCom’s commitment to synergize its initiatives delivered through active partnerships with community-based partners such as NGOs, barangay leaders, youth, and the beneficiaries themselves. We hope that through CoP, Globe can further enrich its social commitment to areas where it can make a significant contribution in addressing issues involving the marginalized sectors and also provide opportunities for underserved Filipino communities so that they too can participate and contribute in the country’s competitiveness,†said Rob I. Nazal, head of Globe CSR.
Aside from its environment preservation and sustainability efforts, Globe also brought in all of the other advocacies of the company such as the Leadership Communities program in partnership with Ayala Foundation, Inc. which helped nurture the youth to become servant leaders; mobile-based savings and microfinancing through BPI Globe BanKo; and income-generating opportunities for beneficiaries of the government’s Conditional Cash Transfer program; among others.