An award-winning public servant advised local government units (LGUs) in a speech delivered last August 7 to adopt corporate social responsibility (CSR) that would enable their leaders to come up with programs and projects that could save people’s lives.
Speaking during the 12th founding anniversary of Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP)’s College of Communication (COC), Valenzuela City Win Gatchalian cited how corporate social responsibility allowed Valenzuela City government to help more people.
Gatchalian, a three-term mayor of Valenzuela City from 2004 to 2013, told PUP students about the values of corporate social responsibility when he came up with building of ‘Disiplina Village’, which was built following the onslaught of Typhoon Ondoy in 2009.
Built in 2010, the ‘Disiplina Village’ is the first and local government-funded resettlement project that successfully removed informal settler families (ISF) from danger zones, like major creeks and waterways or near the Tullahan Bridge in Valenzuela City.
“When you give, give from the heart and when you give help to others, give help to change their lives,” Gatchalian told the audience from PUP.
But Gatchalian, who is a member of House Committee on Metro Manila Development, said ‘Disiplina Village’s success would not have been possible without the collaboration with the local business sector, non-government organizations (NGOs), and other government agencies.
The San Miguel Corporation is just one of the private companies who helped fund the housing project, which leases out decent homes to poor Valenzuela City residents for as low as P300 monthly for as long as 25 years.
PUP COC Dean Edna Bernabe led the academic body in welcoming the lawmaker to the college for his lecture about the role of corporate social responsibility in effective leadership and government.