Over 3,000 residents of Barangay Ilomavis in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato will still get to celebrate Christmas despite the strong earthquakes that hit their province and other parts of Mindanao this October and early December, thanks to the Noche Buena packs that geothermal leader Energy Development Corporation (EDC) and its partners, Manobo Apao Descendants Ancestral Domain of Mount Apo (MADADMA), and the barangay local government unit (BLGU) of Ilomavis, Kidapawan City have given to them on December 21, 2019 at the Barangay Ilomavis gym.
EDC employee-volunteers, youth volunteers and members of MADADMA, and BLGU officials distributed packs composed of spaghetti noodles and sauce, coffee, milk, sugar, cheese, canned fruit cocktail, all purpose cream, pancit, meat, and rice in their first ever Christmas gift-giving ceremony in Kidapawan City.
“This activity that we did to somehow bring joy to these earthquake stricken families also fortifies our strong partnership with our partner community here in Brgy Ilomavis,” said Norreen Gerona-Bautista, CSR Head for Mt Apo and Negros geothermal facilities.
In her speech during the gift-giving ceremony, Geron-Bautista emphasized the importance of Christmas through the acronym P.A.S.K.O., which stands for Pasasalamat (gratitude), “Ampo” (prayer to God to help them rise above this adversity, Smile (be optimistic despite their situation), “Kugi” (persevere to solve problems), and One (have a peaceful and happy Christmas as one).
“The residents of Brgy. Ilomavis and I are thankful to EDC for all the assistance that it has been providing to us who were all affected by the strong earthquakes,” expressed Mantawil. “Thanks to EDC, we can still celebrate Christmas here.”
Cotabato was first struck with a magnitude 6.3 earthquake on October 16, followed by a magnitude 6.6 and a magnitude 6.1 on October 29, a magnitude of 6.5 just two days after on October 31, and a magnitude 6 on December 15.
EDC operates the 108.48-MW Mount Apo Geothermal Project that supplies clean and reliable power to Mindanao. It is a global pioneer in the geothermal energy industry and the country’s largest vertically-integrated geothermal developer, delivering 1,457.8MW of clean and renewable energy to the Philippines.
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.
