AboitizPower Oil BU lends hand to senior high students amidst pandemic

In a bid to ease the learning woes of students in its host communities, the AboitizPower Oil Business Unit (BU) gave financial assistance to senior high school scholars.

The AboitizPower Oil BU, in partnership with the Aboitiz Foundation, handed out the subsidies to 28 scholars from Naga City in Cebu and 26 scholars from Maco in Davao de Oro on November 6 and December 9, respectively.

“The financial assistance is really a huge help to us, especially during this time. Most of us have parents who are currently unemployed because of the pandemic, so this will definitely go a long way,” Marlou Amit, a grade 12 student at the Tuyan Senior High School in Naga City, shared.

The financial assistance — which covers school fees, books, and miscellaneous educational expenses — is a welcome boost in the learning experience of the scholars, who all admit are struggling amidst the ongoing health crisis.

Under the current blended learning setup, they are taught through various means such as online, television, radio, and printed materials, among others. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, COVID-19 is not only a health crisis but also a learning crisis, adding that during these times, children experience stress, fear, and anxiety.

The AboitizPower Oil BU hopes that through some of their interventions, they can help schools bring a sense of normalcy to the children’s lives.

A letter penned by the beneficiaries from Maco, who have been Aboitiz scholars since 2016, reads, “We are very grateful for the financial help you have provided us since our first year in this institution. Your scholarship offer is the very reason [for] our perseverance and persistence.”

AboitizPower Oil BU Vice President for Corporate Services Jokin Aboitiz said their goal is not only to help energize the nation but also to build a more conducive learning environment for students, especially at a time like this.

“We partner with our host communities to help provide better education to the youth, in line with our promise of advancing business and communities,” Aboitiz added.

AboitizPower supports its host communities by working closely with local government units in the implementation of socially relevant programs.

At the height of the pandemic in 2020, the organization helped strengthen local COVID-19 responses through direct remittances to host communities under the Department of Energy’s Energy Regulations No. (ER) 1-94 program. Through collaborative projects funded by the program, the AP Oil BU worked closely with its neighboring local government units (LGUs) to mitigate the effects brought upon by the virus.

The AP Oil BU manages and operates the oil-fired power generation assets of the Aboitiz Power Corporation. Its facilities — which include two land-based power facilities operated by Therma Marine, Inc. (TMI) in Maco, Davao de Oro and Nasipit, Agusan del Norte; as well as power plants operated by Cebu Private Power Corporation (CPPC), East Asia Utilities Corporation (EAUC), and Therma Power Visayas, Inc. (TPVI)  in Cebu — are ready to provide peaking capacity in Visayas and Mindanao whenever necessary.

The AP Oil BU is also certified for ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management System), ISO 45001:2018 (Occupational Health and Safety Management System), ISO 14001:2015 (Environmental Management System), ISO 22301:2012 (Business Continuity Management System), ISO 27001:2013  (Information Security Management System), ( ISO 5001:2018 (Energy Management System) and ISO 55001:2014 (Asset Management System).