Alsons Power’s Western Mindanao Power Corporation (WMPC) bagged the Bronze Award for the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) 9th Gawad Kaligtasan at Kalusugan (GKK) Awards held at the Occupational Safety and Health Center in Diliman, Quezon City. Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz conferred the award on WMPC Plant Manager Jose Marie T. Torrejon and WMPC Safety and Environmental Engineer Joel P. Handugan.
The GKK is the national award given by the DOLE in recognition of the outstanding achievements of industries and individuals in responding to the safety and health needs of workers, workplaces and the community.
Of the 259 companies that qualified for the award this year, only 30 made it to the final deliberations and only 15 emerged as winners. WMPC is the sole GKK winner for Mindanao, joining four other Bronze winners from other regions for the Institutional Category.
WMPC operates a 100 MW diesel-fired plant in Sangali, Zamboanga City that commenced operating in 1997. WMPC supplies power to the Mindanao grid under an 18-year Energy Conversion Agreement (ECA) with the National Power Corporation (NPC). It has set operating standards in the local power industry by becoming the first diesel power station in the country to be equipped with a desulfurization facility designed to capture sulfur dioxide in emission gasses.
Just last September, the plant was awarded the DOLE Tripartite Certificate of Compliance with Labor Standards, Certificate of Child Labor Free Establishment, Certificate of Compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Standards. WMPC was likewise recognized by the Safety Organization of the Philippines, Inc. (SOPI) for having achieved four years of “No Lost-Time due to Accident.” These awards and recognitions take the Zamboanga City-based company one step closer to the coveted Tripartite Seal of Excellence by the DOLE Secretary.
The Alsons Power Group was the first independent power producer (IPP) in Mindanao and is one of the island’s largest power producers with three operating plants generating over 258 MW. Aside from the WMPC facility in Zamboanga City, the other diesel plants in Alsons Power’s portfolio are the 55 MW Southern Philippines Power Corporation (SPPC) plant in Alabel, Sarangani Province and the 103 MW Mapalad Power Corporation (MPC) plant in Iligan City.
