I think Christmas first and foremost is about our family and loved ones.
It is the time of the year that I look forward to because this is a special season where I can be with my family.
But we also consider our employees as part of our family. That’s why to cap off our year, we bring chosen employees from the different companies under MB Villar Group to celebrate with us in the United States.
Christmas is also the season when we reflect upon the birth of Christ by showing how we love and care about those people special to us. I think that we should also use the occasion of the birth of the Savior to help people in need. Let us all perform acts of kindness to our neighbors and those in the margins of society.
As a way of giving back, our family conducts a yearly traditional gift giving activity at Brittany’s Crosswinds in Tagaytay, wherein we have chosen underprivileged kids from Baseco in Tondo as our beneficiaries. It is a place close to my heart as I grew up in Tondo. This year already marks our seventh year of gift giving.
Through the Villar SIPAG meanwhile, we also make sure that our companies exercise social responsibility principally through the empowerment of our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), as well as the implementation of livelihood programs and other poverty-alleviation projects.
We have provided quality and affordable housing units that Filipinos deserve, especially the OFWs, who cannot celebrate the holidays with their families.
This is a fulfillment for every Filipino—to see a tangible fruit of their hard work. We also wanted to elevate their standard of living not just by building houses but also by creating a thriving community where necessities are within their reach.
Communities that we coined as “Communicities” are integrated urban developments that combine lifestyle retail, prime office space, university town, healthcare, themed residential developments and leisure components.
As our focus evolved from building the most number of houses in the Philippines to building communities with long lasting social value, we have built churches within the community, which formed an important part of Christmas tradition in the country.
As 2016 draws to its end, I’d probably wish that our OFWs can finally go home to their families, with a stable and good paying job.
Despite the fact that we take pride in their contributions to the Philippine economy, I still wish they wouldn’t have to leave their loved ones just to give them a bright future.
This sad reality is especially true during this holiday season.