Making the Future means investing in today. For Pilipinas Shell, our commitment to nation-building means helping to create an environment where disadvantaged Filipinos can become productive and responsible members of society.

We do this through PSFI which independently implements our development programmes. Established on August 19, 1982, PSFI addresses significant social issues in the country. “We do whatever little contribution to help uplift the lives of people,” said Cesar Buenaventura, PSFI’s founding chairman.

Currently, PSFI’s development programmes focus on Shell’s global social investment thrusts of providing access to energy; developing skills and enterprises; and enabling the youth to pursue higher education courses in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Beyond these thrusts, PSFI also implements programmes on health, sanitation, and safety; environmental stewardship; disaster relief; and leadership enhancement and attitude development.

“We have a little more flexibility, because the funding for PSFI does not only come from Shell but also from other sources,” said Buenaventura. This allows the foundation to extend its reach beyond Shell worksites and host communities to other areas of the country where help is also needed.

Buenaventura added, “We’ve been very fortunate because we also have a team of dedicated and devoted workers who place the well-being of all our beneficiaries to heart.”

After 35 years, PSFI has touched more than 12 million lives. Moving forward, PSFI will continue to empower more Filipinos to become a partner in progressive and sustainable development.

PSFI’s outstanding programmes

Movement Against Malaria (MAM), formerly Kilusan Ligtas Malaria or KLM, helped the country achieve Millennium Development Goal 6 (Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases) in 2008; it is now contributing to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being at all ages) by 2030.

The programme started in 1999, when PSFI, funded by the Malampaya Joint Venture Partners, implemented the community-based KLM. Putting its community organising experience to good use, PSFI first worked with the Provincial Health Office and the Department of Health Regional Office to set up microscopy centres in 320 villages to ensure early diagnosis and prompt treatment of malaria.

Thanks to the programme, the number of malaria cases and deaths significantly declined in Palawan, calling the attention of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. The Global Fund invested $14.3 million in the programme in 2006, and $31.4 million in 2010. “We are the first corporate foundation to partner with the Global Fund,” said Buenaventura.

With the grant, PSFI first expanded MAM’s reach from Palawan to Apayao, Quirino, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi. By 2010, they were beating the disease in 40 malaria-endemic provinces in the country; in fact, malaria was delisted from the 10 leading causes of morbidity in the Philippines after almost 50 years of consistently being on the list.

MAM’s contribution to the reduction of malaria cases earned it the distinction of “Millennium Development Goal Warrior” from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2011. As of last count, 42 provinces in the country are malaria-free, while 31 provinces are now in the elimination phase. There has been a 92% reduction in the total number of cases and 98% reduction in deaths due to malaria in the country in 2017 compared to the 2003 baseline.

“We’ve done quite a bit on the malaria programme; now we’re looking at HIV and tuberculosis. I guess a healthy Philippines is really something we would like to aspire for because health is a very important part of the makeup of any human being,” said Buenaventura.

Upgrading skill sets, uplifting lives

Through the years, PSFI has implemented a cluster of programmes that are designed to improve the technicalvocational skills of Filipinos and further enhance their work opportunities, benefiting more than 8,000 individuals. These include Sanayan sa Kakayahang Industriyal (SKIL, est. 1983), primarily benefiting out-of-school youth; Gas Mo, Bukas Ko (GMBK, est. 2007), which is designed for Shell retail station staff; the Driver Reward and Incentive Programme (DRIVE, est. 2010) for Class A drivers, dispatchers, safety officers, mechanics, and their dependents; and the Unlad sa Pasada (est. 2010), a scholarship programme benefiting dependents of public utility vehicle drivers who belong to the Shell Pepeng Pasada Club, the loyalty programme of Pilipinas Shell’s Retail business.

Spurring innovation through science education

PSFI supports the Filipino youth in pursuing their studies, enabling them to innovate and create technologies, products, and services that can compete in the global markets and stimulate further economic growth for the Philippines. In 2013, PSFI partnered with the Philippine S&T Development Foundation–Manila, Inc. (PhilDev) for the Shell-PhilDev Scholarship Programme, which has provided science and engineering scholarships to 165 students; as of December 2017, 39 have graduated (two graduating magna cum laude, and 17 cum laude), while 126 are presently enrolled.

In addition, PSFI implemented the Gas Mo, Bukas Ko - Fund for University Education and Leadership Development (GMBK-FUEL) programme in 2014, which provided scholarships to 100 students of Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) taking up industrial engineering, electrical engineering, accountancy, and transportation management. The programme reached its culmination in May 2017 with the graduation of 83 scholars (two graduating magna cum laude and 17 cum laude).

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