Author: administrator

Ayala Museum is set to revitalize the Philippine art scene as it brought together the local and international art communities for its inauguration.

The dedication was held on September 28 in an event hosted by Ayala Corporation and attended by Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, former Pres. Corazon C. Aquino, representatives from the museum’s local and international partners as well as donors, lenders, artists, and patrons of Filipino art.

The inauguration of the new Ayala Museum was the high point of Ayala’s 170th anniversary celebrating the Filipino.

Jaime Zobel de Ayala, chairman of Ayala Foundation under whose auspices the museum belongs, said: “The new Ayala Museum is a gift to the Filipino people. Its mandate has always been to serve the community and the nation. Through the museum, we help re-collect our past by bringing back to the country Philippine collections from overseas institutions to share with a local audience. We intend to bring home what has long been inaccessible to other peoples. At the same time, we want to re-present the future by situating contemporary Philippine art in the global arena, enhancing pride of heritage that could ultimately deepen our understanding of what it means to be Filipino.”

The museum’s dedication featured performances by homecoming Filipino musicians soprano Margarita Gomez, cellist Wilfredo Pasamba, pianist Albert Tiu, violinist Joseph Esmilla, the Philippine Children’s Choir from Mandaluyong and the San Miguel Philharmonic Orchestra. During the program, images were projected on the ceiling and walls to depict historical highlights that are also represented in the exhibitions of Ayala Museum.

Pres. Arroyo opened the exhibits together with Mrs. Aquino and the museum’s principals. Inaugural exhibits include the famous dioramas and boat gallery; a definitive collection of Philippine ivory art from the 16th to 19th centuries; artworks of Fernando Amorsolo, Fernando Zobel, and Juan Luna; and watercolor albums of Damian Domingo and Justiniano Asuncion and actual dresses from the 18th and 19th centuries including loans from the collections of the Newberry Library in Chicago, the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden, The Netherlands, the New York Public Library, the Intramuros Administration, the Bank of the Philippine Islands, and private collectors.

These exhibitions are further complemented by a series of lectures, studio classes, and interactive kiosks when the museum opens to the public on October 1.

Envisioned in the 1950s by Fernando Zobel de Ayala y Montojo, the new Ayala Museum is designed by Leandro V. Locsin Partners led by the late National Artist’s son Leandro Y. Locsin, Jr. Located at the corner of Makati Avenue and de la Rosa Street, Ayala Museum’s glass and granite-clad edifice is a stunning gateway to the redeveloped Greenbelt commercial center.

The museum’s vision and mission are articulated primarily by Mr. Zobel, its trustees, and a board of advisors composed of luminaries of Philippine art, history, and culture including Dr. Benito Legarda, Jr., National Artist Arturo Luz, fashion designer Josie Cruz Natori, and Ryan Cayabyab.

When the Ayala Museum reopens to the public on October 1, expect a larger, state-of-the-art venue that will be home to some of the country’s finest art and artifact collections here and abroad.

No less than four major exhibitions of international caliber will be showcased in time for the new museum’s inauguration on September 28. These include nearly 400 ivory sculptures from the 16th to the 19th centuries and three major overseas collections of Philippine watercolors and costumes from Europe and the United States, many of which have never before been exhibited in the country. In addition, multimedia and virtual exhibitions now enhance the museum’s existing collections.

The museum opens the doors of its new home to coincide with the celebration of Ayala’s 170th anniversary.

Recollecting the past
Located at the corner of Makati Avenue and de la Rosa Street as part of the redeveloped Greenbelt commercial center, the new Ayala Museum continues the tradition of the old museum which was designed by National Artist Leandro V. Locsin. The new museum was designed by Locsin’s architectural firm Leandro V. Locsin Partners, led by his son, Leandro Jr.

The new Ayala Museum is the culmination of the vision of Fernando Zobel de Ayala y Montojo who in the 1950s recognized the need to preserve and deepen Filipinos’ awareness and appreciation of arts and culture to inspire the country to move forward.

With well designed functional spaces and cutting edge technology, the new museum promises to put the Philippines and Filipino artists on the map of the international art community and to showcase Filipino works owned by museums and collectors abroad to the local public.

Explains Ayala Foundation chairman Jaime Zobel de Ayala, “The museum’s mandate has always been to serve the community and the nation. Through the museum, we help re-collect our past by bringing back to the country Philippine collections from overseas institutions to share with a local audience. We intend to bring home what has long been inaccessible to other peoples. At the same time, we want to re-present the future by situating contemporary Philippine art in the global arena, enhancing pride of heritage that could ultimately deepen our understanding of what it means to be Filipino.”

Most definitive collection
One of the museum’s inaugural exhibitions, Power + Faith + Image: Philippine Art in Ivory from the 16th to the 19th Century, is a result of the museum’s synergy with individual and institutional collectors from all over the country. Close to 400 major ivory images form the exhibit, making it the most definitive collection on this subject ever assembled to date.
Power + Faith + Image recalls the time when Philippines was considered the world’s major producer of Christian images in ivory. This Philippine ivory tradition, which is considered to have shaped the most beautiful and moving images, surpasses that of any other country for range, scope and sheer volume of production. Churches as well as private patrons in Spain, Mexico, Latin America and other Asian countries were supplied with these ivory images by master carvers from the Philippines.

Another major opening exhibition is Multiple Originals, Original Multiples: 19th Century Images of Philippine Costumes. This exhibition gathers for the first time the Damian Domingo watercolor album of Philippine costumes owned by the Newberry Library in Chicago, the Justiniano Asuncion watercolor album of Philippine costumes in the New York Public Library, and the Ayala Museum’s watercolor album of Philippine costumes attributed to the Damian Domingo atelier. Complementing the watercolor images are actual costumes from 18th and 19th centuries, including loans from the collections of the Newberry Library in Chicago, the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden, The Netherlands, the New York Public Library, the Intramuros Administration, the Bank of the Philippine Islands and private collectors.

An international museum lecture series accompanies these inaugural exhibits.

Representing the future
Complementing these archaeological and ethnographic collections are the museum’s permanent collections and exhibitions spanning the country’s pre-history to modern times. In fine arts, the museum’s strengths are in the works of two 20th century artists, Fernando Amorsolo and Fernando Zobel. Enhancing these are works by 19th century artist Juan Luna. The new exhibition now includes works by Zobel and Amorsolo that the museum has been selectively acquiring to refine and fill gaps in the collection. For example, there are significant additions to the Zobel collection with major works from the 1970s, one of the strongest periods in Zobel’s career.

Those who have visited the old museum will also be pleasantly surprised by the careful renovation of the diorama exhibition. Representing critical turning points in Philippine history as identified by a panel of scholars led by the museum’s first director, Carlos Quirino, a total of 60 handcrafted dioramas were created in the late 1960s by artists and carvers from Paete, Laguna to form the core of the museum’s historical collections. They are now enhanced by a new multimedia People Power room which allows visitors to be part of “living diorama of moving images” from the creation of the republic to the tumultuous events that restored Philippine democracy in 1986.

The public can expect more exhibitions of international significance and an active program of intellectual exchange among our local and international colleagues. In November, the second round of inaugural programs brings back to the country, also for the first time, the Philippine collection of the Singapore Art Museum. A memorandum of understanding with the Singapore Heritage Board will be signed to facilitate continuing collaborations and exchanges of collections, knowledge, and expertise.

Over the years, the Ayala Museum has shifted from being strictly a museum on Philippine history to becoming an institution in which history and the arts interact and are given equal prominence. Now with a world-class facility and a renewed mission to recollect the country’s past and represent its future, Ayala Museum will soon serve as the locus of cultural interchange between similar institutions abroad and Filipinos.

Mr. Zobel adds, “The new Ayala Museum is a gift to the Filipino people. It’s the high point of this year’s anniversary celebration. It is a place for everyone with each visit assured of a wonderful learning experience. The museum chronicles the journey of our nation and it holds treasures that mirror a rich past and continuously evolving present artworks that are lasting legacies to our country. As Filipinos, we owe it to ourselves to recognize the value of our heritage.”

Ayala Corporation intends to file a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a Peso Five Billion fixed-rate 5-year bond offering. The issue will be rated by domestic credit ratings agency Philratings, an affiliate of Standard and Poor.

The proceeds of the issue will be used to refinance the Company’s future maturing debt obligations, a portion of which is denominated in foreign currency. Ayala’s decision to raise Peso-denominated funding is consistent with the Company’s strategy to shift a greater proportion of its borrowings to the local currency. It is also the Company’s way of contributing to the development of the domestic capital market by providing an investment option to local investors of significant size.

While Ayala is already seeking approval from the SEC, the Company retains the flexibility to launch the bond at the time when it feels the market is most receptive and favorable for a Peso issuance of this size. With close to P6.0 Bn in cash at the parent level and USD140.0 Mn in undrawn, committed credit facilities established by various financial institutions, the Company can adequately cover its maturing obligations up to next year. As such, the Company continues to be opportunistic in its fund-raising activities, enabling it to time the actual issuance when the conditions are favorable for one.

Ayala has mandated BDO Capital & Investment Corporation, BPI Capital Corporation, First Metro Investment Corporation, ING Bank, Land Bank of the Philippines, PCI Capital Corporation and Standard Chartered Bank as the Issue Managers for the bond offering.

Ayala Corporation also signed a P2.7 Bn Note Facility Agreement with a lending consortium to be funded by Banco de Oro Universal Bank‚ Trust Banking Department, Bank of the Philippine Islands, China Banking Corporation, Equitable PCI Bank Trust Banking Group, First Metro Investment Corporation, and Land Bank of the Philippines. This short- term, stand-by facility will provide the Company with additional capability in addressing its future liquidity and funding requirements and flexibility in timing the peso bond issue.

AyalaPort Makati, the first purpose-built data center in the Philippines, recently entered into an agreement with IBM, the company behind the IBM e-servers, by investing in the IBM iSeries servers, also known as the AS/400.

Through this investment, AyalaPort Makati aims to further enhance its services to AS/400 users, particularly Disaster Recovery and Application Hosting services that are AS/400-based.

This translates into cost-efficiency and cost-savings for AS/400 users who wish to have their own business continuity plans or enhance or upgrade their existing server capacities.

“Companies will no longer have to make their own investments in additional servers to be able to service their expanding requirements. We all know that investing in equipment is rather costly and not every company has the flexibility to make investments at all times nor at any time when their business requires it,” says Jimmy Son, sales and marketing head of AyalaPort Makati.

“We at AyalaPort Makati would make these investments for them, thus reducing their own capital investments. We would make these enhancements and upgrade requirements available, whenever they want them. As we have always been telling our customers, with us, they have the option to start small and just scale up as their business grows,” Son adds.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, inquiries on AyalaPort Makati’s business continuity and other hosting and managed services like data storage and performance management have significantly increased.

“Market demand showed that we needed to make more investments to enhance our delivery of business continuity services and other hosting applications. All we had to do was review the requirements our customers had and using those information available to us, we needed the iSeries to fully deliver the exact requirements of our customers to satisfy them,” Son says.

Given the costs involved in setting up one’s own data center, outsourcing IT requirements is an option companies should consider. Outsourcing to AyalaPort Makati’s digital haven offers the following benefits:

• Security. Its modern facilities offer the highest standards of physical security where only authorized personnel can gain access.
• This is matched by advanced hardware and software systems that monitor, analyze and audit server activity and prevent unauthorized network intrusions or other abnormal activity patterns.
• Continuity. Businesses that will locate their servers and applications in AyalaPort Makati’s data center will be given assurance that their systems are protected from interruptions triggered by security breaches, power outages, system errors, floods and seismic events, or even internal labor strife. AyalaPort Makati give new meaning to 24×7 uninterrupted operations.
• Agility. AyalaPort Makati operating environment provides the agility to adapt to fast-changing technology.
• AyalaPort Makati is committed to investing in and deploying advanced technologies and sharing them with customers. Customers need not continually invest in expensive technologies, in capacities beyond what they need. They can start small and scale up as their business progresses.
• Stability. The Ayala name is AyalaPort Makati is the best guarantee for stability. The Ayala name has become synonymous with professionalism and high standards of excellence.
• AyalaPort Makati’s partnership with leading technology providers assure customers of the latest technologies and long-term support, no matter what platform they choose.

The Cabinet Committee of the Investment Coordinating Council granted first-pass approval to the Carmen Water Supply Project in its meeting on April 29.

The P1.9-billion Carmen Water Supply Project proposes to supply an average of 50,000 cubic meters per day to the Metro Cebu Water District (MCWD) from Luyang River in Carmen, Cebu. A consortium of Ayala and Stateland, Inc. submitted the unsolicited Build-Own-Operate (BOO) proposal.

The Carmen project is expected to boost Cebu’s supply level by as much as 35 percent. Cebu currently receives about 275,000 cubic meters of water per day from MWCD and private deepwells.

Said MCWD chairman Ruben Almendras, “The Carmen project will increase MCWD’s water supply by 26 percent and address the underserved demand for water connections, which we receive at the rate of 1000 applications per month.”

Metro Cebu is expected to benefit most from the project. Experts familiar with Metro Cebu’s water situation observe that the Carmen project can stem the demand on Cebu’s battered aquifer, which provides 90 percent of the total water supply. The aquifer is overmined by an estimated 95,000 cubic meters per day, or more than a third of its current production, resulting in increased water salinity. At this rate, Cebu may experience dry taps in 10 years and irreversible ecological damage by 2025.

Almendras noted that after studying available options, the Carmen project was identified to have the shortest timetable in terms of delivery and most cost-effective means in developing sources of surface water. The project, if approved, is expected to be operational in 2007.

Analysts see the project as part of Ayala’s expansion in the water business. Ayala is the biggest shareholder of Manila Water Company (MWC) which is the current the concessionaire of the East Zone in Metro Manila. Since it won the concession a privatization bid in 1997, MWC has decreased systems loss from 68 percent prior to privatization to 51 percent in 2003. It also increased connections to 515,000 households. From only 26 percent in 1997, about 83 percent of its households now enjoy uninterrupted water flow 24 hours a day. In 2003, MWC’s net income rose to P1.2 billion due to improved billed volumes and cost efficiencies.

Ayala managing director Antonino T. Aquino said, “The additional supply addresses a very frequent complaint of Cebu’s business sector which is lack of water. It will enhance development of Cebu’s economy as the project reduces overmining by 50 percent and buys Metro Cebu time to develop other sources of water. In addition, having connections to MCWD will allow the less fortunate sector to save on water expenditure as they cut off dependence from ambulant vendors.”

Following the ICC’s first approval, the consortium of Ayala and Stateland, Inc will finalize its agreement with MCWD through a draft contract. MCWD will then conduct a public hearing and will subject the contract to a review by the ICC and the Presidential Legal Team. Once approved, the agreement will be subjected to a price challenge before the final award.

It’s a way of thinking encouraged throughout the Ayala Group: to be a truly successful business house, one must give back to the community that sustains it.

Guests at the recently concluded annual stockholders’ meetings were given a glimpse of this corporate citizenship. Globe Telecom Inc., the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) and Ayala Corporation held exhibits describing their various social development projects to enlighten the public about the social commitment of Ayala companies.

Building the nation for the future
This commitment is chiefly expressed through the Ayala Foundation, Inc. (AFI). Now on its 40th year, AFI continues to look for innovative ways to develop communities, the arts and culture, and the youth. AFI’s flagship programs such as the Center of Excellence in Elementary Education (Centex), the Solid Waste Management Campaign, Project Youth Tech, and neighborhood alliances in Cebu, Mindoro, and Laguindingan in Northern Mindanao have been making positive differences where needed. Moreover, the Ayala Museum and the Filipinas Heritage Library have both been cited for their role in preserving and nurturing pride in the country’s cultural heritage.

Ayala Corporation itself spearheads programs aimed at creating a lasting impact on Philippine society. The Ayala Young Leaders Congress this year held its fourth assembly of student leaders from all over the country with the purpose of encouraging them to be citizen leaders in their own communities. Ayala Corporation also led the group in supporting and sending thousands of volunteers to activities such as Habitat for Humanity’s World Leaders Build and the La Mesa Watershed Reforestation.

Company strengths
Ayala companies draw on their particular strengths to express their corporate social responsibility. Globe’s exhibit highlighted the Globe Telecom Academic Achievement Awards (GTAAA), now on its seventh year of recognizing excellence in electronics and communication engineering, electrical engineering, and high school math and science. Globe supports similar projects that harness the potential of the youth such as Centex, the book reading program Sa Aklat Sisikat, the Globe-Isla-CITE Technical Scholarship Program, and ConnectEd.ph, an initiative of the government and private sector to provide Internet laboratories for public high schools. Apart from these education and youth-oriented programs, Globe also provides medical assistance and relief operations in the Bicol region through its Disaster and Emergency Response Program.

BPI Foundation’s booth emphasized its role in encouraging the youth to pursue careers in science and engineering through the BPI Science Awards. More than 300 students from the country’s top universities have been recognized for various achievements in their field. BPI Foundation also provides scholarships to deserving students of science and engineering.

BPI Foundation is particularly proud of mobilizing employees to volunteer for its programs. In the past year, BPI employees have participated in Habitat for Humanity builds, medical missions in Pasay, Marikina, Quezon City, Cagayan de Oro, and Tanauan, Batangas, and relief assistance to victims of calamities. Employees themselves even organized exposure trips on solid waste management and environmental conservation for public school children.

Meanwhile, Ayala Land’s exhibit focused on programs that enrich its host communities. The country’s largest property developer is actively involved in river rehabilitation and water resources conservation in Calamba, Laguna, anti-flood measures in Makati, Pasay, and Paranaque, traffic management in Muntinlupa, Las Pinas, and Laguna, and dental and medical missions Metro Manila and Southern Luzon. It is also a benefactor of schools such as Putatan Elementary School in Muntinlupa and the Centex campuses in Tondo and Bauan, Batangas, as well as organizations for the differently abled like the Elsie Gaches Village and the Earthsavers’ Dream Ensemble.

Stockholders get involved
The corporate citizenship exhibits seemed successful in encouraging stockholders to get involved in the Ayala companies’ projects. While some had knowledge of these projects through brochures and features in the newspapers, others were pleasantly surprised to discover that the company they invested in are giving back something to society.

Observed Teresita Basilio, an ALI stockholder, “I’m glad you have projects such as day care centers, schools, reforestation, and the like. It’s good to know that Ayala Land is a very good corporate citizen.”

Some stockholders expressed interest in participating in the projects. Said retired captain Rogelio Rodillas, a Globe stockholder: “Maganda yung La Mesa Reforestation kasi grabe na ang pollution sa Maynila. Yung sa Habitat for Humanity okay din kasi kulang tayo sa mass housing. Kailangan mabigyan din ang mga mamamayan ng mga bahay. I’m willing to volunteer for these projects para makatulong ako sa mamamayan at para may legacy din ako ng pagtulong.”

They even suggested other projects that the companies could be involved in. Basilio says she would like to see ALI teach farmers to grow herbs and provide them seedlings for fruit trees and other alternative crops. BPI stockholder Engr. Alma Manalili, wanted to see more values-oriented programs for the youth and programs for street children.

As the Ayala Group embarks on another year of fulfilling its role as good corporate citizens, it may just find a supportive partner in the stockholders who put their trust on its companies.

Grosvenor Place, a joint development of Grosvenor, Asia Standard International and Ayala International, was awarded the 2004 MIPIM (The International Property Market) Award for Residential Developments at the 14th MIPIM Awards Ceremony on March 11 in Cannes, France.

The 29-storey Grosvenor Place in Repulse Bay, Hong Kong, was the first residential development in Asia to receive the MIPIM Award, often referred to as the “Oscar” of the international property industry. The MIPIM Awards recognizes the world’s most remarkable property developments in five categories: business centres, shopping centres, residential developments, refurbished office buildings, and hotel and tourism resorts.

An independent, international jury selected Grosvenor Place and 14 other finalists from among a hundred projects, a record number since the awards were created in 1990. Around 15,000 participants in the MIPIM fair then cast their votes and chose five winners and a special jury awardee.

Managing director of Ayala International Pte Ltd, Charles Cosgrove noted, “Grosvenor Place is the first Asian residential development ever to be awarded such recognition. The whole project speaks of the leadership and the commitment of the venture–Asia Standard, Grosvenor Group and Ayala International–to conceiving and completing a real estate product representing value and timeless quality.”

Lau Cheng Soon, Ayala International’s executive director overseeing Asia, further added, “The recognition affirms Ayala’s commitment to excellence and to quality performance benchmarked against international standards.”

Grosvenor Place bested Armada Housing in the Netherlands and the Arkadien Asperg in Germany in the category, Residential Developments. Designed by Paul Davis and Partners of London, Grosvenor Place is a development of Weststar Enterprises Limited, a joint venture of Grosvenor, Asia Standard International, and Ayala International.

Grosvenor is an international property group with operating companies in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Americas, Europe, the Australia Asia Pacific region. Asia Standard is involved in properties, hotel operations and restaurant chains in both Hong Kong and China. Ayala International is the regional investment arm of Ayala Corporation, a Philippine-based business house whose core industries are real estate, banking, and telecommunications.

Another Ayala development, Ayala Center’s Greenbelt 3, was also a finalist in the shopping centres category. It was the only Philippine entry to make it to the final round this year.

“The MIPIM Awards are the most prestigious distinctions in the property world. It is the ‘Oscars’ the property industry,” noted Werner Welter, former managing director of DB Real Estate Investment GmBH (Germany) and president of the jury of this year’s awards.

Globe Telecom and other members of the Ayala group of companies received a total of 11 Gold Quill and Anvil Awards in separate awarding ceremonies hosted by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)/Philippines and the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP).

IABC/Philippines’ Gold Quill Awards and the PRSP’s Anvil Awards are two of the highest distinctions given to excellent business communication and public relations programs in the country.

IABC/Philippines bestowed five Gold Quill Awards of Excellence and three Gold Quill Awards of Merit to Ayala companies in recognition of communication initiatives in community relations, publication and publication design, audio-visual presentation, marketing communication, and electronic and interactive communication. These projects were recognized by their respective management teams as adjunct tools of successful businesses and were judged at par with international standards of quality.

Collaborative effort

Given the Gold Quill Awards of Excellence were Globe Telecom’s Globe Spectrum Magazine(Publication Design); the Ayala group of companies 2002 Unified Annual Reports (Publication and Publication Design); Ayala Foundation’s Text2Teach: A Bridgeit Project (Community Relations); and Ayala’s corporate video What Makes a Company Great? (Audio-Visual).

Globe Spectrum Magazine communicates industry issues and corporate news and developments to Globe’s external publics. It is a collaborative effort of Globe’s public relations division and lead design agency ArtOne Design, Inc. headed by Dopy Doplon.

The Ayala group of companies 2002 Unified Annual Reports focused on the concept of stakeholder trust. Using a single design template, the reports highlighted the conglomerate’s diverse business interests and shared business principles and values.

Ayala’s five-minute corporate video, developed together with K2interactive, Inc., reiterated the concept of responsible stakeholder relations with the tagline: “What makes a good company great? What makes a country great? The people who stand by it.”

Also given Gold Quill Awards of Merit were AFI’s Text2Teach (Marketing Communication, in tandem with EON, Inc.); Globe Telecom’s Icon: The Globe Employee Portal (Electronic and Interactive Communication); and BPI Foundation’s Steering Infanta Onto the Road to Progress (Community Relations).

Text2Teach is part of a global program designed to improve community life by using text messaging to download educational videos via satellite into classrooms.

Globe Telecom’s web-based employee portal Icon facilitates fast and effective communication among the company’s more than 4,000 employees in 80 corporate offices, business centers and technical offices in over 20 cities nationwide.

Meanwhile, BPI Foundation was awarded for its project, Steering Infanta Onto the Road to Progress.

Tradition of excellence

Ayala companies were also recognized at the PRSP’s 39th Anvil Awards for their tools of publications and institutional and corporate programs. The Zobel & Zen Calendar 2003, which featured select artworks of Jaime Zobel and released for Globe Telecom’s 75th anniversary, garnered the Anvil Award of Merit in Tools of Publication. Ayala’s 2002 Unified Annual Reports also received the Anvil Award of Excellence in the same category.

Meanwhile, Manila Water Company received an Anvil Award of Merit for Institutional and Corporate Programs for its entry, The Randy Diaz Incident: Crisis Communications at Work.

The 11 Gold Quill and Anvil Awards received by Globe Telecom and other members of the Ayala group of companies reflect the conglomerate’s high standards of quality in communications and public relations as in its business operations. This tradition of excellence helped make Ayala, over the course of its 170-year history, one of the largest and most respected business houses in the Philippines today.

For Reference:

Cynthia H. Evidente / Jones T. Campos
Globe Telecom
Tel 730 2629 / 730 2624

Ayala Triangle lit up with a vibrant fusion of art and music on March 23 for “Hindi Kita Malimot: The Filipino as Romantic,” a concert celebrating Ayala Foundation’s Funders’ Night and Ayala Corporation’s 170th anniversary.

Donors and supporters of Ayala Foundation as well as the public enjoyed an evening of Filipino and classical music interpreted by Cecile Licad, conductors Eugene Castillo, Ryan Cayabyab, and Arnel Feliciano, and the San Miguel Philharmonic Orchestra.

During the performance, photographs of Ayala chairman Jaime Zobel were projected on the canopy of Tower One and Exchange Plaza, dramatically transforming its fountain area into a concert hall.

The concert was the highlight of AFI’s Funders’ Day, an annual celebration which recognizes those who have supported or partnered with the foundation’s various social development projects in the past year. The event was open to the public and was attended by an estimated number of 2,000 people.

Hosted by Ayala Corporation, Ayala Land, and the Bank of the Philippine Islands, the concert was also part of the yearlong celebration of Ayala’s 170th anniversary that honors the Filipino through a fusion of various arts and culture entertainment and social development projects. Featured artists performed the works of Piotr Tchaikovsky, Maurice Ravel, as well as the music of romantic Filipino composers including Constancio De Guzman, Mike Velarde, Jr., and national artists Ernani Cuenco and Levi Celerio. Cayabyab conducted the SMPO in a selection of great Filipino love songs which he himself orchestrated.

Fresh from her successful Paris debut, Licad performed Maurice Ravel’s Concerto in G Major together with the SMPO under the baton of Castillo. Castillo, a highly acclaimed Filipino-American conductor, was recently appointed principal conductor of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra.

Since 1961, the Ayala group of companies through the Ayala Foundation has taken an active role in helping improve the lives of the underprivileged through its various social development, education, arts and culture, information technology and youth development programs. These projects are carried out in partnership with individuals, companies and institutions that believe in the same dream of a better life for Filipinos.

“Ayala has long been aware of its corporate social responsibility,” noted Zobel. “Since its inception, Ayala Foundation has always striven to evolve and meet the changing needs of the times. Today, we continue to look for ways by which we can further nurture the soul of creativity of the Filipino.”

In Mandaluyong City, residents of # 81 Interior, Makaturing Street are working to transform the former quarry site into a shanty-less, self-sustaining community through a collaboration with the Ayala group of companies, Habitat for Humanity Philippines, the Makaturing Neighborhood Association, Inc. (MNAI), and the city government of Mandaluyong.

Launched on March 15 by Ayala Corporation executive managing director Fernando Zobel de Ayala, Habitat for Humanity International founder Millard Fuller, and Mandaluyong City Mayor Ben-Hur Abalos, the Integrated Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (KALAHI) ng Ayala is a tri-sectoral response to the government’s appeal to help eradicate poverty.

Explained Ayala Foundation president Victoria P. Garchitorena: “The Integrated KALAHI ng Ayala attempts to address poverty by providing an array of empowering services for target communities and thus unleash their potential for development.”

Synergy for impact

Inspired by the KALAHI ng Ayala pilot in Block 37, Addition Hills, Mandaluyong, the Integrated KALAHI ng Ayala is designed around the concept of creating synergy for impact. Participants are asked to select from among their existing corporate social responsibility projects and channel these into a common area to better address the needs of the community.

For Makaturing, Ayala companies put together their individual expertise and resources to give a complete development package. Manila Water Company (MWC) installed two fire hydrants in strategic spots in the community so that residents will be better equipped to respond quickly to fires. Globe Telecom donated a computer laboratory with free Internet access for one year and Ayala Foundation will provide computer training. Ayala Land also began a dental mission that will continue in the next two to three years.

Meanwhile, the Bank of the Philippine Islands, MWC, and Ayala Foundation developed a micro-lending program that will provide small livelihood loans to unemployed women and youth of Makaturing. Ayala Foundation will also work with MNAI to improve its solid waste management program and further reduce residual garbage in the area.

Moreover, BPI, Honda Cars Makati, Inc., and Globe will embark on creative fund-raising schemes to raise awareness and support for other community projects such as the renovation of the multi-purpose center and scholarship for Makaturing children. The Ayala Business Club-Metro Manila East, an organization of officers from Ayala companies in the locality, will also design a special project for Makaturing’s overseas Filipino workers and their families.

Model community

In addition, Habitat for Humanity will lead house construction and renovation, making the Integrated KALAHI ng Ayala a more potent instrument for addressing Makaturing’s basic needs. Habitat’s Adopt-a-Community Program will also complement Ayala Foundation’s efforts in training members of the neighborhood association to maintain the well-being of the community. MNAI and Makaturing residents have agreed to become active allies by contributing volunteer labor and helping manage the project in the long term.

“The Philippines is the anchor of our work in Asia,” noted Fuller. “Habitat ofr Humanity was started here in 1988 and it will build about 1,500 houses this year. And the most exciting thing about the Philippines is the involvement of young people in this country. Here you have the next generation coming along to make sure that the work not only continue but also expand dramatically in the future.”

The results of the Integrated KALAHI ng Ayala remain to be seen but partners are confident that residents of Makaturing will find a new sense of dignity as well as a new meaning to community life. Garchitorena hopes that the Makaturing model will inspire other companies to initiate similar programs in their communities.

“We believe that KALAHI offers an innovative possibility for corporations in search for a meaningful way to harness available resources for poverty alleviation. Through synergy, we can achieve a common vision of progress for all Filipinos,” said Garchitorena.