SPMJ honors PH vehicle distributors' CSR thrusts in 2023 'Driven to Serve' Awards

The Society of Philippine Motoring Journalists (SPMJ) recently honored numerous local vehicle distributors for their respective corporate social responsibility initiatives that helped communities within the year.

For the latest “Driven to Serve” Awards, the group presented eight platinum honors — which covered four categories namely education and training, road safety, environmental protection, and community development — to Isuzu Philippines Corporation (IPC), Honda Cars Philippines Incorporated (HCPI), Ford Group Philippines (FGP), and Trimotors Technology Corporation (TTC).

Below are following programs that merited recognition from the group:

IPC’s Heart and Smile project (Education and Training)

Established in 2008 with the World Vision Development Foundation and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the IPC’s Heart and Smile program has already produced 351 graduates — 141 of whom were employed by Isuzu and its dealerships.

Under the project organizers provide full scholarship (tuition, housing, and food) to trainees consisting of individuals coming from the underprivileged communities in the Visayas region.

Ford PH’s Auto Mechanic Scholarship program (Education and Training)

Since 2016, the Blue Oval's Auto Mechanic Scholarship Program has been able to help over 116 youth complete a 15-month course at the Don Bosco Technical Institute-Technical Vocational and Education Center (TVET) in Makati City.

About 70 percent of the graduates — who passed the Ford Standardized Training and Resource System Examination and are eligible to be first-level Ford technicians — are currently hired in various automotive dealerships. Some 30 scholars are enrolled in the 2022-23 program.

Ford PH’s Operation Better World: Building Healthy Communities (Community Development)

The Ford Operation Better World — which is a continuing program since 2013 — focuses on healthcare support for partner Gawad Kalinga Communities.

Aside from medical and dental missions as well as feeding programs, the initiative includes Healthcare Capacity Building Training, where women volunteers are trained on basic health, first-aid, maternal and child care.

About 284 volunteers have been trained under the program and five medical missions are set to be conducted every year.

HCPI’s Recycling of used Lead Acid batteries and used oil (Environmental Protection)

In collaboration with Bantay Kalikasan, HCPI has collected, recycled, and properly-disposed approximately 110,000 kilograms of used lead acid batteries and over 10,000 liters of used oils since 2017.

HCPI’s Teen Smart (Road Safety)

Conducted in partnership with AISEC Philippines, the Teen Smart program (which started in 2004) was aimed to advance the youth’s road safety awareness and strengthen their sense of responsibility in reducing road accidents as pedestrians and future drivers. The training program includes classroom instruction on safe driving behavior and an experiential drive to improve understanding of how technology can enhance the safety of road users.

HCPI’s Innovation Contest for Senior HS (Education and Training)

The contest (organized with the Department of Science and Technology – Science Education Institute) invites senior high school students to submit possible solutions that could address issues in their respective communities through critical thinking, experimentation, risk analysis, engineering, and technical skills.

Aside from providing financial resources, Honda also participated in consultations and mentoring through various stages of the program.

TTC’s Key to serve more Filipinos-Bajaj firefighting vehicle (Community Development)

The company made a version of its three-wheeler offering that can carry up to 400 liters of water to serve as a first responder and fire alarm verifier for densely-populated areas.

Since 2020, the company has donated 329 Bajaj three-wheeler units to serve as community service and frontliner responder vehicles, as well as for livelihood programs.

Photos from Society of Philippine Motoring Journalists

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