In photo are University of the Philippines Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of the Marine Science Institute Dr. Gil S. Jacinto, PLDT Controller and concurrent Chief Sustainability Officer Chaye Cabal-Revilla, PLDT Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan, University of the Philippines College of Science Dean Dr. Giovanni A. Tapang, University of the Philippines Director of the Marine Science Institute Dr. Laura T. David, and University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute President for Marine Environment and Resources Foundation, Inc. (MERF) Dr. Vanessa Baria Rodriguez.

24 marine protected areas in various parts of the country will benefit from research studies to be done by scientists of the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UPMSI) under an agreement between PLDT-Smart’s Gabay Kalikasan and UPMSI through its Marine Environment & Resources Foundation (MERF).

Benefitting local coastal communities, the program will be launched on March 1, 2020. Phase 1 of the project will cover marine protected areas in 12 sites in different parts of the country. The project will be done in collaboration with partner local government units.

The research program aims to help develop activities to enhance the conservation of these marine protected areas. Moreover, the research program also provides scientific basis so that the enhanced marine protected areas will also have the added benefit of helping fight climate change by acting as carbon sinks. If managed properly, the mangroves and seagrass areas can absorb carbon and lessen carbon footprint which help alleviate global warming and climate change.

“PLDT and Smart are taking a more collaborative approach to help create a more sustainable environment. Through partnerships like this one with UPMSI, we hope to do our share in raising awareness about climate change and taking concrete action to combat it,” said PLDT Chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan.

Gabay Kalikasan also assists local communities to develop their abilities to manage their coastal areas. “The world is facing the consequences of how we have taken care of our environment in previous years. Our sustainability efforts are small steps geared towards creating progressive changes in our environment,” said PLDT SVP & Group Controller, concurrent Chief Sustainability Officer, and Smart Chief Financial Officer Chaye Cabal-Revilla.

“This initiative of Gabay Kalikasan aims to help empower and capacitate local communities on coastal and marine environmental management, which is key to its protection and conservation,” Cabal-Revilla explained.

About Gabay Kalikasan

As part of its efforts to ramp up sustainable development initiatives, the PLDT Group launched Gabay Kalikasan in 2019. It is the umbrella of all environmental stewardship initiatives, which is among PLDT and Smart’s seven sustainability pillars. Other pillars aimed at future-proofing the Group’s business include continuous innovation, responsible and efficient operations, awesome customer experience and quality of service, corporate social responsibility and community relations, good labor practice and people management, and good governance and ethical business practices.

All PLDT and Smart’s seven sustainability pillars reinforce and contribute to the triple bottomline espoused by sustainability — profit or progress, people, and planet.

Prior to the launch of Gabay Kalikasan, PLDT and Smart began its sustainability efforts in 2015, anticipating the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requirement that all Philippine-listed companies publish its Sustainability Reports for year-end 2019 in 2020.

The PLDT Group is committed to boosting its efforts to conduct business in ways that protect future generations, including protecting the planet. More than just compliance,