APALIT, Pampanga – Right before his town mates here on Tuesday, businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan announced he was not seeking the presidency in the May 2010 elections.
‘I have registered as a voter of Apalit last May. But it is not true that I am running as president,” Pangilinan said in Filipino as he spoke to local officials, teachers and students at the San Vicente Central School (SVCS) here.
The chair of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and Smart Communications began his speech on that note made on the occasion of the turnover by the PLDT Smart Foundation and the Philippine Business for Social Program of the MVP Community Center for E-Learning to the Department of Education.
The blessing was held in time for his 63rd birthday. It was the third time since 2007 that he spent his birthday in Apalit, the birthplace of his grandfather Benito and father Dominador.
Saved for that brief clarification on his supposed election bid—one that was fueled by the Ako Mismo ads, which is actually a voter’s registration campaign—Pangilinan spent the rest of his talk on the importance of education to the youth and to the country’s progress.
Quoting a Jesuit priest, he ended his speech by urging local officials and educators “to do more for the Philippines.”
Temie Lambino, Commission on Elections supervisor in Pampanga, confirmed that Pangilinan registered as a new voter of Apalit last May.
Asked on his presidential plan, Pangilinan replied: “Wala. Dito lang. Trabaho lang.”
He said he would rather contribute to nation-building by managing well the companies under his own Metro Pacific and by infusing bigger corporate social responsibility in those and in the PBSP, which he also chairs.
EDUCATION
The center was built on Pangilinan’s P2-million donation last year. It houses 11 computer stations that are linked to the Internet. Mainly for the computer literacy program of 2,022 elementary students in SVCS, it is also for the use of more than 30 teachers who can tap information technology in enhancing classroom learning, according to PBSP executive director Gil Salazar.
Last year, the PLDT Smart Foundation and PBSP set up two centers with six stations each in SVCS and Escaler Elementary School.
PLDT and Smart have provided Internet connection to more than 100 public schools in the country, said Butch Meily, the foundation’s executive director.
“Education is one of the major thrusts of our corporate social responsibility so we believe that it is a great enabler for young kids for livelihood, finding jobs and to generally improve economic welfare,”
He shared breakfast with the students, giving them cakes, breads and fried chicken. His message to them was: “Wag mawalan ng pag-asa no matter what. Dapat mangarap sila na magtagumpay sila, abutin ang tagumpay.”
The help he is extending in Apalit is borne out of his fond memories of the coastal town and gratitude.
“I believe I owe it to Apalit, to give back the many blessings that the good Lord has given me,” he said.
BUSINESS AND PROGRESS
The PBSP, founded in 1970 as the response of the business sector to the issues surrounding poverty in the Philippines, is one of the largest non-government organizations in the country, generating P300 million to P400 million in grants and donations yearly, he said.
According to him, the PBSP and the 244 companies with it have spent more on social programs in the last five years to be able to raise the level of support to poor communities amid the economic crisis. Its spending this year is higher by 12 percent in 2008.
“These are the times when people need more help,” Pangilinan explains.
As of September 2008, Salazar said the PBSP has spent P75 million on education, P42 million in micro and small enterprises, P130 million on health and P100 million on area resource management.
‘I have registered as a voter of Apalit last May. But it is not true that I am running as president,” Pangilinan said in Filipino as he spoke to local officials, teachers and students at the San Vicente Central School (SVCS) here.
The chair of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and Smart Communications began his speech on that note made on the occasion of the turnover by the PLDT Smart Foundation and the Philippine Business for Social Program of the MVP Community Center for E-Learning to the Department of Education.
The blessing was held in time for his 63rd birthday. It was the third time since 2007 that he spent his birthday in Apalit, the birthplace of his grandfather Benito and father Dominador.
Saved for that brief clarification on his supposed election bid—one that was fueled by the Ako Mismo ads, which is actually a voter’s registration campaign—Pangilinan spent the rest of his talk on the importance of education to the youth and to the country’s progress.
Quoting a Jesuit priest, he ended his speech by urging local officials and educators “to do more for the Philippines.”
Temie Lambino, Commission on Elections supervisor in Pampanga, confirmed that Pangilinan registered as a new voter of Apalit last May.
Asked on his presidential plan, Pangilinan replied: “Wala. Dito lang. Trabaho lang.”
He said he would rather contribute to nation-building by managing well the companies under his own Metro Pacific and by infusing bigger corporate social responsibility in those and in the PBSP, which he also chairs.
EDUCATION
The center was built on Pangilinan’s P2-million donation last year. It houses 11 computer stations that are linked to the Internet. Mainly for the computer literacy program of 2,022 elementary students in SVCS, it is also for the use of more than 30 teachers who can tap information technology in enhancing classroom learning, according to PBSP executive director Gil Salazar.
Last year, the PLDT Smart Foundation and PBSP set up two centers with six stations each in SVCS and Escaler Elementary School.
PLDT and Smart have provided Internet connection to more than 100 public schools in the country, said Butch Meily, the foundation’s executive director.
“Education is one of the major thrusts of our corporate social responsibility so we believe that it is a great enabler for young kids for livelihood, finding jobs and to generally improve economic welfare,”
He shared breakfast with the students, giving them cakes, breads and fried chicken. His message to them was: “Wag mawalan ng pag-asa no matter what. Dapat mangarap sila na magtagumpay sila, abutin ang tagumpay.”
The help he is extending in Apalit is borne out of his fond memories of the coastal town and gratitude.
“I believe I owe it to Apalit, to give back the many blessings that the good Lord has given me,” he said.
BUSINESS AND PROGRESS
The PBSP, founded in 1970 as the response of the business sector to the issues surrounding poverty in the Philippines, is one of the largest non-government organizations in the country, generating P300 million to P400 million in grants and donations yearly, he said.
According to him, the PBSP and the 244 companies with it have spent more on social programs in the last five years to be able to raise the level of support to poor communities amid the economic crisis. Its spending this year is higher by 12 percent in 2008.
“These are the times when people need more help,” Pangilinan explains.
As of September 2008, Salazar said the PBSP has spent P75 million on education, P42 million in micro and small enterprises, P130 million on health and P100 million on area resource management.
