Philex Mining named one of PH’s best in CSR advocacy
Residents and visitors fishing for tilapia at a fishpond in Sitio Balding, Brgy. Camp 3, in the Benguet town of Tuba, at the Fish Harvest Festival, on Dec. 27, 2013. This is part of the fish-farm project by the Balding-Tokok Irrigators and Farmers Association (BATIFA) in cooperation with Philex Mining Corp.
Philex Mining named one of PH’s best in CSR advocacy
Monday, April 7, 2014
It’s the second time the company was cited by FinanceAsia for excellence
By Butch Franco
Philex Mining Corp. has been named as one of the Philippines• top companies for its social and environmental projects, garnering the ninth place in the Best Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) category in a latest poll conducted by the Hong Kong-based FinanceAsia magazine.
This honor will continue to inspire our employees to keep on doing what is right in the right way for the right reasons,• Eulalio Austin, Jr., president and CEO of Philex Mining, said. •This is also a validation of the company•s CSR advocacy as echoed in the environmental and social projects it undertakes.•
The latest award marks the second time that the country•s biggest gold-and-copper producer was cited by FinanceAsia for its excellence in CSR, the first being was in 2012, when Philex Mining clinched the fifth and ninth places in the Best CSR and Best Corporate Governance categories respectively. These awards underscore the company•s commitment to responsible mining, which focuses on operational excellence, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility.
Conducted on hundreds of investors and analysts across Asia for over a month from February, the poll also ranked Napoleon Nazareno, president and CEO of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) Co., as the country•s Best CEO. Mr. Nazareno has led the growth of PLDT, a Philex Mining sister-company, since 2004.
PLDT also ranked No. 1 in the categories of Best Investor Relations and Most Committed to a Strong Dividend Policy in the FinanceAsia•s Best Companies in Asia Poll, now on its 14th year, bagging the same awards for the sixth year in a row.
This recognition affirms how committed we are in consistently adding value to the investments of our shareholders,• Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of PLDT and Philex Mining, said in a statement. •As an example, PLDT has maintained a policy of declaring 100 percent of its core income as cash dividends for shareholders, with cumulative payout reaching P310 billion for the past 10 years.•
Philex Mining has tied with another sister-company, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), in its latest award, as well as with the multinational fast-food chain Jollibee Foods Corp., Semirara Mining Corp., and SM Prime, the parent company of the SM Group•s shopping malls. Another sister-company, the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), was co-listed as fourth-placer in the Best CSR category while MPIC was also cited in the Best Managed Companies category at No. 10.
The CSR advocacy of Philex Mining is embodied in its Social Development and Management Program (SDMP) and Community Development Program (CDP), which are geared toward the development of the host and neighboring communities where it is permitted to explore and operate. The SDMP is implemented in areas there Philex Mining has operations while the CDP is applied where the company has exploration activities.
For this year, Philex Mining•s Padcal Mines, in Benguet, has P86.5 million for its SDMP, P20.1 million for the Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) campaign, and P11.1 million for research activities dubbed the Development of Mining Technology and Geosciences Program (DMTG). In 2013, Padcal spent a total of P58.2 million out of the P74.04-million budget set aside for its SDMP, IEC, and DMTG.
PLDT was also ranked second in the Best Corporate Governance, advancing two steps up from its last year•s ranking of fourth, Best Managed Company (from No. 7 last year), and Best CSR categories. This is the first time that PLDT was cited for its CSR efforts, particularly on disaster relief and rehabilitation, and on education, poverty alleviation, and social entrepreneurship.