Led by the Alcantara group whose over 50 years of steadfast commitment to Mindanao can be seen in its investments in property development, agribusiness and aquaculture as well as power generation, the Alsons Power Group continues to focus its corporate citizenship efforts in answering the needs of residents in the communities where it operates.
Putting education at the centerpiece of its corporate citizenship programs, Alsons Power has been instrumental in helping secure the future of the brightest academic performers in select schools in Mindanao by providing automatic scholarship grants for each school’s top 10 honor students. This program is also seen as a move to counter the Philippines’ increasing dropout rates for the last three years among students who come from the poorest sectors of the population.
For school year 2016-2017 alone, 200 scholars will be able to continue their high school and college education owing to Alsons’ scholarship program.
Ruben Tungpalan, Alsons Power’s Corporate Affairs and Community Relations head, said, “It has always been Alsons’ vision to help raise communities where education is within reach. It is our firm belief that education plays a vital role in poverty alleviation and community development. As such, Alsons will continue to champion it in areas where we are present.”
Since it started in 2004, over 4,000 honor students have already benefited from the scholarship program. They are from within and around the areas where the group’s various power facilities are located, such as the Southern Philippines Power Corporation (SPPC) in Alabel, Sarangani Province; the Sarangani Energy Corp. (SEC) in Maasim, Sarangani Province; and the Western Mindanao Power Corporation (WMPC) and the San Ramon Power Inc. (SRPI) in Zamboanga City.
Apart from the scholarship program, Alsons Power also provides education-related infrastructure. To date, over 30 fully furnished classrooms, libraries and laboratory buildings with built-in toilet facilities have been constructed and donated to various schools throughout Zamboanga City and Sarangani Province. The fully furnished classrooms donated come with armchairs and book trays while the laboratory and library buildings are equipped with computers and furniture.
Committed to providing safe, reliable and affordable power to the people of Mindanao and the rest of the country, the Alsons Power Group is expected to generate a total of 588 MW by 2019 – a little over 25 percent of Mindanao’s projected peak power demand. It currently operates four power plants in Mindanao which include Mapalad Power Corporation’s 103-MW (megawatt) diesel plant in Iligan City; the 55-MW Southern Philippines Power Corporation diesel facility in Alabel, Sarangani; the 100-MW diesel plant of the Western Mindanao Power Corporation in Zamboanga City; and the 105-MW first section of the Sarangani Energy Corporation’s coal-fired power plant in Sarangani. All four power plants will be operating to help alleviate the energy shortage in Mindanao and ensure a steady supply of electricity during the May elections.
