SM Prime Holdings recently entered a five-year partnership with the Galing Pook Foundation (GPF) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Local Government Academy (LGA) in support of the annual Galing Pook Awards, which recognizes local government units for their exemplary governance, innovation, sustainability, and resilience initiatives.
The memorandum of agreement (MoA) signing last July 12, formally launched the public-private partnership among the Galing Pook Foundation, SM Prime and the DILG-LGA where SM Prime will provide financial and other forms of support to the said awards and its related programs and activities as part of the company’s contributions to a more sustainable and disaster-resilient Philippines. The partnership was likewise realized thru the initiative and support of ARISE Philippines, a private sector alliance for Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience where SM Prime is a leading member.
Present during the virtual MoA signing were former DILG Secretary and GPF Board Chairperson Mel Sarmiento; GPF Board of Trustees members Chito Sobrepena and Austere Panadero; GPF Executive Director Georgina Hernandez-Yang; DILG Local Government Academy Executive Director Thelma Vecina; SM Prime Holdings President Jeffrey Lim; SM Supermalls Vice President for Corporate Compliance Engr. Liza Silerio; and ARISE-Philippines Co-chair and Consultant VAdm. Alexander Pama.
“With the addition of SM Prime Holdings as our institutional private sector partner, alongside the DILG Local Government Academy as our institutional public sector partner, we firmly believe that we can reach out to more community leaders. Sharing the success stories of local governments will allow us to achieve our mission,” Sarmiento said.
“SM Prime compliments the foundation’s efforts to support local government units that exemplify proactive, adaptive, and innovative initiatives aimed at promoting good governance practices that can be replicated by other LGUs nationwide. We are indeed glad that with the initiative and support of ARISE-Philippines, this project has brought our multi-stakeholder partnership to a new and more significant level,” Lim said.
Previous winners include the Municipality of San Luis, Aurora for its “Luntiang Pamayanan ng San Luis” initiative; the Municipality of Palompon, Leyte for “Integrated Community-Based Eco-Tourism and Coastal Research Management” initiative; and the Municipality of Del Carmen, Surigao del Norte for its “Siargao It Up! Mangrove Management and Social Tourism Program,” to name a few.
To learn more about the Galing Pook Awards, visit http://galingpook.org. Winners will receive a cash award from DILG -LGA and will become part of a circle of change makers who have created innovative solutions to some of the biggest climate-related problems in their communities, in turn creating legacies cementing their contributions to the global climate movement.