TeaM Energy: Building partnerships for progress
Throughout the years, TeaM Energy has contributed in powering the country’s development needs by lighting up homes, factories, offices, and various industries through the electricity it generates in its power facilities.
As the nation’s growth partner, the power firm has gone beyond addressing the country’s need for reliable and cost-efficient energy. Through its social development arm, TeaM Energy Foundation, Inc. (TEFI), TeaM Energy has forged strong partnerships with its various public stakeholders to implement high impact corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs that aim to complement government efforts to hasten the country’s development and improve the lives of Filipinos.
Boosting agriculture
Through its partnership with the Department of Energy (DOE) and the European Union Access to Sustainable Energy Programme (EU ASEP), TeaM Energy implemented programs to boost the productivity and improve lives of small farmers in different parts of the country by providing machines, equipment and facilities that promote the use of renewable energy.
Through a project completed in September 2023, a group of small-scale abaca farmers with 70 members in Jamindan, Capiz are now able to produce higher quality abaca fibers that will help increase their income. This was after they received a state-of-the-art hybrid-solar-powered abaca spindle machine donated by TeaM Energy.
In partnership with the DOE Visayas Field Office, the local government of Jamindan, Capiz Electric Cooperative, Inc. (CAPELCO), and the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (PhilFIDA), TeaM Energy funded the purchase of the abaca spindle machine that was turned over to the Pasol-o Small Coconut Farmers Association (PASCFA).
Traditionally, farmers in Barangay Pasol-o where PASCFA is based have employed manual methods to process abaca fibers, laboriously pulling the fibers by hand. This manual approach typically results in thicker abaca strips, which fetch a lower market price, averaging around 50 pesos per kilo. With TeaM Energy’s donation of the hybrid solar-powered abaca spindle machine, farmers will now have access to advanced technology that yields more refined abaca strips, which command a significantly higher price of approximately 90 pesos per kilo. These abaca strips are mainly used as raw material for barongs and other local garments.
The hybrid solar-powered spindle machine not only enhances the quality of the abaca fiber; it also increases the efficiency and productivity of the farmers.
In Sual, Pangasinan, a community of small rice farmers in Barangay Sioasio still reap the benefits of a program that was completed in 2020. In partnership with the DOE, the European Union Access to Sustainable Energy Programme (EU ASEP), the Sual local government, the Central Pangasinan Electric Cooperative (CENPELCO), and Barangay Sioasio East Solar Power Association, Inc. (BSESPAI), TeaM Energy constructed a solar-powered rice milling facility, provided a palay de-husker, winnower, de-stoner, and a sewing machine to make rice sacks. This has improved rice production and significantly increased the income of beneficiary farmers while helping contribute to the region’s food security.
Additionally, TEFI also installed a solar-powered air-conditioning system for a honey processing plant managed by the Sioasio East Forest Development Association in Sual.
Also in partnership with the DOE, EU ASEP, Central Negros Electric Cooperative (CENECO), the Don Salvador Benedicto local government in Negros Occidental, and the Bago Integrated Solar Farmers Association (BISFA), TeaM Energy provided a 4-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system that powers a decorticating machine to produce high-quality, export-ready fiber from pineapple leaves which are used for the production of barongs, other garments, and household products. These are exported as eco-friendly, ethically-sourced and locally produced materials. Completed in August 2021, the project has helped increase the income of around 125 farmers and spur local economic activity.
“Our partnership with the Department of Energy and other national and local government agencies has allowed us to implement high impact CSR programs that have helped improve lives throughout the country,” said Maria Teresa C. Lopez, Vice President of TeaM Energy Foundation, Inc. (TEFI).
In the early 2000s, in partnership with the DOE, various electric cooperatives and local government units, TeaM Energy completed the electrification of over 1,500 far flung barangays in the country through its flagship CSR program Project BEACON (Barangay Electrification Assistance for Countryside Development). Over 11,000 kilometers of power distribution lines were installed through this project, introducing electricity to remote barangays throughout the country.
Local government partnerships
In the municipality of Sual in Pangasinan where TeaM Energy operates the Sual Power Station (SPS), the power firm partnered with the local government through Mayor Liseldo Calugay in powering the computer laboratories in all 20 public schools with solar power. Twenty-two (22) units of 4.6 kilowatt-peak grid-tied photovoltaic systems were installed in each of Sual’s public schools. This project which was completed in 2021 reduced the dependence on electricity from the grid, which can be unreliable and expensive in some areas.
This computer laboratory in Sual National High School is one of the 20 computer laboratories in Sual, Pangasinan powered through a solar power system donated by TeaM Energy.
The solar units have helped reduce the electricity costs of schools, allowing them to allocate more for essential educational resources. Also, students in Sual are given hands-on experience in using computers and advanced software, enriching their educational experience.
TeaM Energy has supported the priority programs of the Sual LGU in the past years including supplying various medicines and vitamin supplements for its healthcare programs, turning over 234 sets of jetmatic pumps for its safe water program, and donating thousands of sacks of rice for distribution to Sual farmers affected by low harvest, and economically disadvantage residents.
In the host municipality of Pagbilao in Quezon, TeaM Energy has worked with Mayor Angelica Portes Tatlonghari in implementing various programs aligned with the priorities of the local government. In the past two years alone, TeaM Energy helped improve facilities in barangay health centers in Pagbilao by providing medical examination tables, first aid kits, surgical kits, fetal dopplers, weighing scales and IT equipment among others. The municipal birthing facility has also been equipped with hospital beds, air-conditioning units, an electric breast pump, oxygen tank and regulator.
TeaM Energy likewise supported the Pagbilao LGU’s livelihood and food security program by providing farm implements, planting materials and hundreds of heads of cattle to boost the program. The power firm also provided handloom weaving equipment to be used as a source of livelihood for a group of local Pagbilao women.
Partnering with host provinces
In the past years, TeaM Energy has worked with the Pangasinan provincial government under the leadership of Governor Ramon Guico III in identifying areas where TEFI can support the province. This resulted in the donation of a mini bus, and six units of pickup vehicles to support the mobility requirements of the provincial government, and help improve the delivery of basic services in Pangasinan. Turned over in March 2024, the vehicles are also expected to boost Pangasinan’s programs for tourism, livelihood, and investment promotion.
In Quezon Province where TeaM Energy operates the Pagbilao Power Station (PPS), TeaM Energy has aligned its development efforts with the priority programs of Governor Angelina “Helen” Tan. A medical doctor, Gov. Tan has strongly advocated to uplift the quality of public health care in the province. In March 2024, TeaM Energy turned over an anesthesia machine, and 15 digital ECG machines to the Quezon Provincial Government in addition to the two ventilators donated in 2023. The 15 ECG machines will be distributed to each of the 15 public hospitals in the province.
Governor Helen Tan delivers a message during the turnover of medical equipment by TeaM Energy last March 2024 at the Quezon Medical Center.
“We recognize that close coordination with local officials and leaders in implementing development programs will work best. This way we are able to add value to their efforts by strategically deploying resources in areas where gaps have been identified,” said Froilan Gregory H. Romualdez III, Head of External Affairs, TeaM Energy.
Partners in Education
In partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd), TeaM Energy turned over two brand new school buildings at Paitan Integrated School and Pangascasan Integrated School in Sual, Pangasinan, last December 2023. Another school building was turned over at Polo Integrated School in Padre Burgos, Quezon while a multi-purpose facility was turned over to Walay Elementary School also in Padre Burgos, Quezon last October 2023. The facility can be used for various school events, meetings, and even as a disaster risk management evacuation center.
Through Project SiKAP (Silid Aralan tungo sa Katuparan ng mga Pangarap), this brand new school building in Polo Integrated School in Padre Burgos, Quezon was constructed. The building has two classrooms which are fully-furnished with chairs, desks, electric fans, lighting fixtures, and a teacher’s desk. It also comes with its own comfort room for the convenience of students and teachers.
Students of Sioasio Integrated School in Sual, Pangasinan attend classes in their newly constructed classroom donated by TeaM Energy, one of the 22 it has built since 2014.
TEFI’s Project SiKaP has successfully constructed high-quality classrooms and school buildings to aid different public schools. Since 2014, TEFI has helped build classroom buildings for 22 public schools and multi-purpose facilities for three public schools. TEFI is also an active participant in Brigada Eskwela since DepEd started the program in 2003. Through the years, TEFI has helped prepare public schools for the opening of classes by virtue of volunteerism among TeaM Energy employees who clean, paint, and repair classroom materials like chairs and desks.
Partners in Environmental Stewardship
In partnership with DepEd Pangasinan, 18 public elementary schools in Sual completed TEFI’s Ecoskwela Program where environmental stewardship is instilled to students and teachers through institutionalized green systems or 4 green seals in schools: Solid Waste Management, Biodiversity Conservation, Energy Conservation, and Water Conservation. TEFI has trained school heads and teachers with the knowledge, skills and values to promote green practices in their schools. TEFI provided infrastructure based on validated needs to institutionalize green systems such as vermi-composting, waste segregation, and rain catchment.
In Sioasio East in Sual Pangasinan, 60 hectares of reforestation area is maintained and protected through TEFI’s partnership with Sioasio East Forest Developers Association, Inc. (SEFDAI), and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Capacity building in leadership development, values formation, and enterprise development was provided to SEFDAI. The DENR considers this project as a success story given its high average survival rate of 96% since 2010. TEFI has also provided livelihood opportunities to SEFDAI including honey production and sawali making.
In General Nakar, Quezon, and Daraitan, Rizal, TEFI has partnered with Non-Timber Forest Product Exchange Programme (NTFP-EP) in establishing Pigteponen, a community-based enterprise of the Agta/Dumagat-Remontado tribes. Through Pigteponen, forest-based livelihood was developed which included production, harvesting, manufacturing, processing, distribution, and marketing of non-timber forest products such as honey, tea, roselle wine, and almaciga resin. These efforts primarily support forest conservation by the forest-dependent communities in the 144,000 hectares of forest land in the area.
In Santiago Island in Bolinao, Pangasinan, TEFI partnered with the Asian Social Institute, Inc. (ASII) to help address the destruction of marine resources caused by illegal fishing practices, and insufficient income of fisher folk. Working further with the DENR, the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP MSI), various fisherfolk organizations, local government units and its municipal local agencies, improvements were made such as the rehabilitation and enhancement of mangrove conditions in several barangays through activities such as training in mangrove reforestation, coastal resource management, installation of a mangrove nursery, and the establishment of a sea cucumber project to create an added income source for fisher folk.
Recognition from partners
Last April 2024, the Provincial Board of Quezon led by presiding officer and Vice Governor Anacleto Alcala III passed a resolution that recognized TeaM Energy’s contributions to the development of Quezon Province through its CSR programs. The resolution, sponsored by Board Member Roderick Magbuhos, expressed “profound appreciation and gratitude to TeaM Energy for consistently demonstrating a commitment to CSR initiatives aimed at fostering sustainable development and community empowerment.”
The Provincial Board of Quezon, led by its presiding officer, Vice Governor Anacleto Alcala III (6th from left) hands over a copy of Provincial Resolution No. 2024-099–authored by Board Member Roderick Magbuhos (center)–to representatives of TeaM Energy led by Froilan Gregory Romualdez III (8th from right). The resolution cites TeaM Energy for its corporate social responsibility programs in the province. Also in the photo are (left to right): Board Member Julius Jay Luces; Ex-Officio Board Member Angelo Eduarte; Board Member Claro Talaga Jr.; Board Member Vinette Alcala-Naca; Carlo Calvario, External Affairs Associate, TeaM Energy; Board Member Harold Butardo; Ethel Osio, External Affairs Manager, TeaM Energy; Board Member Maria Yllana Liwanag-Asistio; Francis Xavier Sia, Board Secretary (partly hidden); Ex-Officio Board Member Jackelyn Delimos; Board Member John Joseph Aquivido; and Board Member Isaias Ubana II.
Earlier this month (June 2024), the Municipal Council of Pagbilao led by its presiding officer, Vice Mayor Shierre Ann Portes Palicpic, issued a resolution “expressing gratitude and thanks to TeaM Energy Corporation for all the projects and assistance given to the municipality of Pagbilao, Quezon.” Authored by Councilor Michael E. Martinez, Resolution No. 208 points out that TeaM Energy’s projects and assistance will help beneficiaries in their day-to-day lives.
The local government of Pagbilao also gave TEFI a special award last September 2023 recognizing the foundation’s contributions to the development of Pagbilao through its various social development programs.
As recognition for TeaM Energy’s initiatives for education, in January 2023, the DepEd Quezon Division awarded TeaM Energy with a plaque of recognition for the power firm’s support to the Adopt-a-School program in the province; and another award from the DeEd Region IV-A Calabarzon as one of DepEd’s valuable private partners in the region.
The Schools Division Office I of DepEd Pangasinan likewise recognized TeaM Sual Corporation as the Top 1 Notable Stakeholder for 2023 “in recognition and grateful acknowledgement of its noteworthy contributions, tireless effort, and outstanding support which made a significant impact” and which helped in the success of DepEd’s programs.
Indeed, strong partnerships with public stakeholders are an essential element to the success of private sector-driven CSR programs. By engaging its government stakeholders at the national and local levels, TeaM Energy has ensured that its community development efforts are timely, relevant, and will create a lasting impact in improving people’s lives.
TeaM Energy operates two power plants: the 1,200 MW Sual Power Station in Pangasinan and the 735 MW Pagbilao Power Station in Quezon Province. It also has a 50% stake in the 420 MW Pagbilao Unit 3 Power Project in Quezon.
This article is brought to you by TeaM Energy.
ADVT.
