BALANGA CITY — PTT Philippines will adopt 10,000 elementary students from 100 public schools in remote barangays nationwide through the “PTT Paaral Program” which was launched last February 26, aimed at extending educational assistance to both the schools and the students.
The Thai oil firm, through its corporate social responsibility arm, PTT Philippines Foundation, Inc. (PTTPFI), has partnered with the Department of Education (DepEd) to identify schools in remote villages that need assistance in the form of educational materials.
PTT Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Sukanya Seriyothin said the schools that will be given priority in the program are those located in remote barangays that can be reached only by walking, boat ride, or climbing.
“Normally, these schools are located in the far-flung areas that are about two to five kilometers away from the población,” Seriyothin said.
She added that the program has been coordinated with the DepEd and other government agencies like the Department of Social Welfare and Development to ensure the success of its implementation.
The “PTT Paaral Program” has initially identified three provinces in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Bataan and other provinces of Central Luzon, and Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal & Quezon) as pilot areas for the project.
“We are initially targeting an elementary school at the foot of Mt. Pulag in Benguet for the CAR, another school at the foot of Mt. Mariveles in Bataan for Central Luzon, and another one at the foot of Mt. Banahaw in Quezon province for Calabarzon,” PTTPFI President Paul Senador said.
At least 100 students in each school will be provided with educational materials such as backpacks, notebooks, writing pads, pencils, crayons, and slippers. The school, on the other hand, will also receive educational tools and materials such as posters, eraser, chalk, marking pens, first aid kit, and pre-owned laptop, among others. In exchange for the educational materials, PTTPFI is requiring the beneficiary students to plant 10 trees each inside their school compound as part of their environmental awareness and contribution to environmental protection and preservation.
“We are eyeing to adopt a total of 100 schools nationwide and that is equivalent to about 100,000 trees once we have completed this program at 100% survival rate,” Senador averred.
Also, he said that additional incentives will be given to the beneficiaries who will be able to achieve a 100% survival rate.
The program, supported also by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine Air Force (PAF), and the local government units, has a seed fund of P3-million from the proceeds of PTT’s Restroom 20.
Restroom 20 is a donation toilet concept adopted from PTT Thailand aimed at providing first-class amenities to ensure customer convenience and satisfaction. In the Philippines, two PTT stations – the PTT SCTEX in Concepcion, Tarlac and PTT Lucena – have Restroom 20.
The launching of “PTT Paaral Program” held Tuesday at PTT office in Makati City was personally witnessed by top executives from PTT Thailand led by its Chairman of the Board Khun Auttapol Rerkpiboon with Ambassador Vasin Ruangprateepsaeng of the Royal Thai Embassy Manila, and representatives from DepEd, DENR, DSWD, and the PAF.