Mighty Corp, CSR arm continued educational assistance

“Education is known to be a powerful equalizer. It gives children from low-income families a fighting chance to uplift themselves and their families from poverty and lead productive and meaningful lives.”

This was stressed by Mighty Corp President Edilberto Adan as he announced the Wong Chu King Foundation’s (WCKF) educational assistance, consisting of 100 college scholarship grants, to poor but deserving students who are children of tobacco farmers in Northern Luzon.

“Formal schooling is often too expensive and priced well beyond the reach of the poor, including tobacco farmers,” Adan, a retired general said, adding that the new scholarship program is one of three components of a P10-million joint CSR project of Mighty Corporation (MC) and the National Federation of Tobacco Farmers and Cooperatives Inc. (NAFTAC) that aims to benefit 65,000 farmers in Pangasinan, La Union, Abra, Cagayan, Isabela, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur.

WCKF is the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of MC, which the Wong Chu King family owns.

“This is our way of thanking the farmers for helping to make our company what it is today,” said Adan at the formal signing rites for the project at a hotel in Bauang, La Union last February 8.

“We are happy that Mighty Corporation, through its Wong Chu King Foundation, has stood firm on its commitment to help 65,000 tobacco farmers in the Philippines,” said Mario Cabasal, NAFTAC national president, at the signing, attended by top MC executives and 200 farmer leaders.

Retired judge Oscar Barrientos, MC executive vice president and spokesman, said the WCKF initially offered scholarships to the dependents of active MC employees but later expanded this to include dependents of retired MC employees and poor but deserving students with excellent academic records.

“Through this program, we hope to help the farmers and their children become competitive in the global market and earn sustainable incomes,” Barrientos said.

The scholarship program is in support of the National Tobacco Administration’s scholarship program for poor but deserving graduating high school students and dependents of tobacco farmers.

Other components of the project include agricultural production assistance, consisting of 16 hand tractors worth P2.5 million and 90 irrigation pumps worth P1.1 million; and institutional support for the annual search for outstanding tobacco farmers and cooperatives by the National Tobacco Administration (NTA).

Currently, the foundation has six high school and 14 college students on scholarship in various schools nationwide. Two of its college scholars graduated last year.

James Rommel Silao graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.S. Chemistry degree from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City. He is now employed as a chemist at MC’s manufacturing facility in Malolos City, Bulacan.

Abigail Punongbayan, daughter of Conching Ong Punongbayan, MC head of production, graduated Cum Laude with a degree in Medical Technology at the University of Sto. Tomas. She is now completing a degree in medicine at the same university.