MVP, partners shore it up for environment

MANILA, Philippines - Underwater and coastal cleanup campaign “Shore It Up” is pursuing greater depths this year with more beneficiary communities and companies and volunteers joining forces.

The MVP Group of Companies, led by businessman Manuel Pangilinan, yesterday signed an agreement with several partners for the fifth year of the “Shore It Up: Rescue, Restore, Revive” campaign, the country’s longest running corporate-backed environment program.

Shore It Up has so far attracted more than 13,000 volunteers and 43 event partners.

“We are happy to be invited by Metro Pacific Investment Foundation. Their projects are very worthwhile and very important, especially nowadays that we have to be more conscious about the environment,” said Philippine STAR president and CEO Miguel Belmonte.

“It’s our response to everybody’s concern about the environment. Its focus is the waters of the Philippines and the shores,” Pangilinan said.

The STAR is the official media partner for Shore It Up, which is now on its fifth year of making a difference in various coastal locations.

“This is our third year to be a media partner. It’s important for such events to be given much publicity to increase awareness,” Belmonte said.

Through increased awareness, other companies and conglomerates will know that they can do their share in environmental activities, he said.

Aside from underwater cleanup, Shore it Up embarks on environmental issue awareness, tree planting, cleanup and segregation, artificial reef placement and environmental awareness program for kids.

“There’s no direct impact (on our businesses) but we want to demonstrate we are committed to the communities,” Pangilinan said.

To ensure covenants and commitments that were set out in the past few years are sustained, Shore It Up will revisit four destinations – Anilao, Puerto Galera, Hundred Islands and Subic – it worked on in the past.

An underwater cleanup will be held in Puerto Galera on July 20 and 21, giant clam rearrangement in Hundred Islands in Pangasinan on Aug. 17, coastal cleanup in Subic on Sept. 21 and a marathon in Siargao in October.

Shore It Up was launched in 2009 following the devastation of Tropical Storm Ondoy. Metro Pacific Investment Foundation and volunteer divers from the MVP Group of Companies spearheaded the program.

The first underwater and coastal cleanup was held in the famed dive spot in Anilao, the nearest diving haven to the metropolis.

“With this endeavor, we will not only bring a positive environmental impact but also economic and socio-cultural components for a sustainable tourism program in the area,” said Metro Pacific Investment Corp. vice-president for communications Melody del Rosario.

Shore It Up has been accorded the Anvil Award of Merit for sustained environmental program in 2011 and 2012. It was also given the Best CSR in the Corporate Governance Asia Award and the Silver Award of Excellence in the 5th Global CSR Award, both in 2012.