Allianz, town ink partnership on mangrove restoration

By: Glazyl Masculino

BACOLOD City – Allianz PNB Life Insurance Inc. signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the municipal government of E.B. Magalona in Negros Occidental on June 27 to support the town’s environmental project on mangrove restoration.

Allianz PNB Life chief marketing officer Rosalyn “Gae” Martinez and Mayor Marvin Malacon led the MOA signing in the presence of the town officials.

The financial service provider also turned over a check amounting to P150,000 for the mangrove plantation project to conserve and protect the environment.

“We’re actually adopting 10 hectares out of the 20 hectares mangrove plantation in the town through our financial support,” Martinez said.

Martinez said the local government unit (LGU) and the community will plant mangroves while the company will monitor and make sure that there is progress in the mangrove project.

We will send people from our offices and agency channels all over the country to be involved in the actual cleanup restoration initiatives at the mangrove area, she added.

Martinez, assisted by the village officials went to Mangrove Eco Park at Barangay Tomongtong to personally check the mangrove plantation of the town.

Martinez said the said municipality is the first LGU in the Philippines that Allianz is supporting on their first project under environment protection.

“We found out that the municipality is big into supporting eco-environment initiative, so we thought it is very much aligned to our advocacy since Allianz is a strong advocate of sustainability, particularly on environment protection, along with social inclusion and financial literacy, as part of our corporate social responsibility strategy,” she added.

Martinez said Allianz has 92 million customers and is one of the world’s leading financial services provider, which operates in 70 countries, originally based in Munich, Germany.

“Our customers rightfully expect that Allianz performs good business practices that will positively impact not just them, not the customers, but the communities, and the environment that we’re operating in,” Martinez said.

We’re doing this because Allianz is big in sustainability efforts particularly in environment protection against climate change and global warming,” she added.

Martinez said they also have plans to do the same in other local government units.

Martinez urged the local residents to continue their advocacy for the environment, as she assured them support from the Allianz.

She also lauded the efforts of the community and the LGU for such project.

We’re glad that we’re doing this partnership with E.B. Magalona, she said.

Meanwhile, Allianz also want to extend their support and partnerhsip with regards to their financia literacy program.

“We were inspired with the children who were doing cleanup in the mangrove Eco park, thus we are targeting to so financial planning seminar with the kids to teach them on managing their finances at an early age,” Martinez said.

For his part, Municipal Environment Officer Jojo Vargas, said their mangrove planting is an annual project to protect and rehabilitate the mangrove areas in the nine coastal villages in the town.

The mangrove also protects the residents as barriers against typhoon and strong winds, he added.

It can also be used as sanctuaries for blue crabs and fishes, he said.

We are also planning to have local conservation area for the blue crabs, Vargas said.

Vargas said they are conducting awareness campaign to residents to widen their understanding on environment protection and conservation.

Recently, the town received first platinum award from the provincial government for Seal of Good Environment Governance on June 25.