Manulife launches significant Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives in the Philippines, aiming to inspire change for the better as part of its Community Investment push, through partnerships with three non-government organizations (NGOs): Gawad Kalinga, Corazon Sanchez Atayde Memorial Foundation (CSAMF), and Haribon Foundation.
Manulife Philippines’s three new partnerships interconnect with the three pillars of Manulife’s recently launched global Impact Agenda: empowering sustained health and well-being, driving inclusive economic opportunities, and accelerating a sustainable future.
Empowering sustained health and well-being with Gawad Kalinga
Addressing nutrition security and infrastructure development issues will be the focus of Manulife’s partnership with Gawad Kalinga. Through Goodbye Gutom, Gawad Kalinga’s family food sufficiency program, Manulife will support 300 families by training them in organic agriculture and guiding them in maintaining family plots.
In addition, Manulife will establish five Peso Smart Learning Centers, named after its award-winning financial literacy program Peso Smart, to drive the importance of financial well-being by providing classrooms in Gawad Kalinga villages, so they can support remote schooling for children.
Driving inclusive economic opportunities with CSAMF
Financial education is one of Manulife’s core programs to help uplift the lives of Filipinos. Since 2020, Manulife has been working with CSAMF on Peso Smart x RecoveREADS, reaching out to public elementary schools in Metro Manila and the provinces to promote financial literacy among students, teachers and principals, and support distance learning. Since its inception, Peso Smart has produced more than 400 graduates across its different sub-programs, including Peso Smart University where Manulife financial experts teach university students the importance of financial transformation.
This year, Manulife and CSAMF aim to expand the number of Peso Smart x RecoveREADS graduates to 1,200 public school students in more cities and provinces and create bespoke financial literacy modules for homemakers.
Accelerating a sustainable future with Haribon Foundation
Globally, Manulife actively incorporates climate change considerations into its decision-making for its operations, investment decisions, and products and services. Manulife Philippines’ partnership with Haribon Foundation demonstrates the importance of nature-based solutions in helping to preserve the planet we all share.
Through the Forests for Life program of Haribon, which aims to restore Philippine rainforests, Manulife Philippines commits to planting 15,000 seedlings covering about 12 hectares of land in Haribon’s conservation areas in the provinces of Laguna, Quezon, and Rizal.
Anna Varona, Chief Operations Officer, Haribon Foundation, shared: “A multi-sectoral approach is essential to create a sustainable future. We mark this day as Manulife joins and supports Haribon Foundation’s Forests For Life movement. We act on mutual interest to create sustainable programs that aid in the preservation of biodiversity, while helping to restore ecosystems and vital resources of our planet.”
