QUICK READ: Working together to help more communities is part of being regenerative, which is what EDC has committed to be.
“Our genuine malasakit (care) is extended to our partner communities in times of natural catastrophe, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic.”
Thus was the statement of Richard B. Tantoco, President and Chief Operating Officer of Lopez-led geothermal leader Energy Development Corporation (EDC) during his recent talk on the call to be regenerative for the Global Catholic Climate Movement and Focolare Movement’s joint online celebration of the “Season of Creation”—a monthlong prayerful observance that calls on the planet’s 2.2 billion Christians to pray and care for God’s creation.
Just a few days after Tantoco’s talk, parishioners of the Diocese of Bacolod became EDC’s most recent beneficiaries of its COVID-19 assistance, as Jayvi Valenzuela, the company’s Community Partner from its Negros geothermal facility turned over 50 sacks of rice to Rev. Fr. Nitodel Soriano, Director, Diocesan Pastoral Center and Rector of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Shrine, and Fr. Jerryvel Celestial, University of Saint La Salle Chaplain. Valenzuela was assisted by EDC BINHI Youth Champions’ Eunice Arnaez (also the Diocesan Commission on Youth’s Administrative Secretary) and Markslin John Ato, as well as John Lyod Dionido, one of EDC’s SIKAT scholar-alumni.
“Thank you for extending your help and support to us during this pandemic. Your donation will help our small parishes in mission areas, especially the poor families that have been affected by COVID-19. May the good Lord bless you a hundredfold. May this endeavor strengthen our relationship. Continue being a good Samaritan to others,” said Rev. Fr. Soriano.
The activity is part of EDC’s 3rd wave of COVID-19 community assistance in Negros Occidental. EDC began providing aid to its partner communities, local government units, and customers at the onset of the pandemic even if it has no operations in the area as part of its commitment to continuously support Negros Occidental, which gets power from its 222.5-megawatt geothermal facility in Negros Oriental.
A total of 1,000 food packs were recently handed over to the legislative staff of Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer for Bago City and La Carlota residents and to 3rd district of Negros Occidental Board Member Manuel Frederick Ko for indigent families from the towns and cities of EB Magalona, Talisay, Silay and Victorias.
“We in EDC continue to have all hands on deck as we provide uninterrupted clean, renewable, reliable power while helping our stakeholders in Negros Island beat the health and economic challenges brought about by the COVID-19 crisis,” said Norreen G. Bautista, head of EDC’s CSR team in Negros and in Mount Apo. “Working together to help more communities is part of being regenerative, which is what our company and the rest of the Lopez group have committed to be.”
Bautista was referring to their new mission of forging collaborative pathways for a decarbonized and regenerative future. Their new chosen path calls for the entire conglomerate to uplift the state of everything they touch and everyone they partner with.
EDC is the country’s premier renewable energy company and one of the world’s largest geothermal producers. Its geothermal facilities in Valencia, Negros Oriental has been providing clean, renewable, reliable power 24/7 to Negros Island and other parts of the Visayas region for over 36 years.
The Energy Development Corporation (EDC) is a pioneer in generating 100% clean, renewable, and reliable power as an electricity supplier in the Philippines for over 40 years. With power plants all over Visayas and Mindanao, the company is one of the biggest producers of geothermal energy in Asia and is expanding its reach in the international market, allowing it to offer customers affordable energy rates. EDC also strives to provide the best customer service it can to all its clients by having helpful salespeople and easy to understand contracts. Because of all of this, it is poised to become the premier supplier of electricity for the Philippines’ Green Energy Option Program. EDC takes its mission as a renewable energy provider seriously and goes beyond sustainability by investing in programs that enhance the environment and empower its partner communities, thereby fostering regenerative development. The company has also been working toward being carbon-neutral by improving its energy efficiency, as well as implementing various greening projects to ensure that its mission to provide future generations with a better life remains intact.
