Meralco, OMF recognized at Anvil Awards for strong commitment to customer, community, country

Meralco and One Meralco Foundation won 13 awards at the 53rd Public Relations Society of the Philippines Anvil Awards. Holding the trophies are the winning teams, together with Meralco and OMF officials led by its Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan. Also in photo are SVP and Head of Customer Retail Services and Corporate Communications Alfredo S. Panlilio, OMF President Jeffrey O. Tarayao, FVP and Head of Legal William S. Pamintuan, VP and Head of Marketing, Customer Solutions and Product Development Jose Antonio T. Valdez, and AVP and Head of Public Information Office Joe R. Zaldarriaga and AVP and Head of Corporate Governance and Compliance Office Atty. Jocelyn C. Villar-Altamira.

The recent Anvil Awards given to the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) and its corporate social responsibility arm, One Meralco Foundation (OMF), by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP) are proof of the increasing social role that organizations are giving to public relations.

In Meralco’s case, the foundation of its DNA has long been its commitment and mission to serve the welfare of its 3C’s – its customers, the communities where it operates, and ultimately the country. Given this, Meralco’s various public relations programs in recent years are designed and implemented to provide real, tangible benefits to its three publics, and uplift the lives of fellow Filipinos.

Powered by their mission to make the future brighter for the Filipino people, Meralco and One Meralco Foundation have, through the years, formed meaningful partnerships with their stakeholders that have later evolved into empowering programs and initiatives.

These programs were among the recipients of top awards at this year’s 53rd Anvil Awards organized by PRSP, where Meralco and OMF took home four Gold and nine Silver Awards. The Anvil Awards, dubbed as “the Oscars” of Philippine public relations, recognizes outstanding public relations programs, campaigns, and tools that exemplify the highest standards of PR practice in the country.

Meralco Senior Vice President and Head of Customer Retail Services and Corporate Communications Alfredo S. Panlilio said that these awards serve as affirmation of the quality and impact of their programs in the fields of education, sports, youth welfare, community development, as well as stakeholder communication, all of which have created a meaningful impact on the lives of Meralco’s beneficiary audiences.

“We are grateful for the recognition given to us by our colleagues in the communication industry. These awards inspire us to remain at the forefront of delivering impactful customer-centric initiatives, where communicating valuable information for the benefit of all our stakeholders plays an ever-crucial role. We shall continue to press forward to provide our customers exemplary service while fulfilling our commitment to nation-building,” Panlilio said.

For its proactive efforts in communicating to customers and empowering them with crucial power-related information, Meralco won a Gold Anvil for “Meralco Advisory: Enlightening Customers about Power Rates Adjustments.” Initiated in 2013, the Meralco Advisory has been raising the bar as the first and only infomercial in the world that addresses the issue of monthly electricity rate adjustments, while educating consumers on managing their power consumption through energy-efficiency tips.

Meralco Advisory Enlightening Customers about Power Rates Adjustments is an innovative campaign that gives updates on monthly electricity rate adjustments, while educating consumers on managing their power consumption.

Football for Peace for Peaceful Communities is a partnership program of One Meralco Foundation with the Philippine Marine Corps that aims to promote peace through sports, especially among children in war-torn areas.

One Meralco Foundation likewise won a Gold Anvil for “’Football for Peace for Peaceful Communities,” a partnership with the Philippine Marine Corps that aims to promote peace and inculcate values such as discipline, teamwork, sportsmanship and camaraderie through sport, especially among children in war-torn areas, particularly in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

One Meralco Foundation &Project Liwanag: Empowering the Indigenous is a sustainable grassroots solar electrification project supported by OMF which has helped energize Aeta communities in Tarlac.

Also winning a Gold Anvil was “One Meralco Foundation & Project Liwanag: Empowering the Indigenous” – a sustainable grassroots solar electrification project supported by OMF which has helped energize Aeta communities in the mountains of Tarlac.  The project has since become a template for a sustainable solar microgrid system suited for off-grid mountain communities.

OMF’s Meralco Energy Education program won a Gold Anvil as well for its breakthrough learning initiative that promotes the responsible use of electricity among students. The program created an Energy Ed toolkit, developed teachers’ competencies and utilized various communication tools to bring about a better understanding of energy issues in public school communities nationwide.

One Meralco Foundation President Jeffrey O. Tarayao said these awards serve as one of their many inspirations to do more for the communities.

“We see these awards as testament to the right steps we are taking towards making the future brighter for our fellow Filipinos. We are reinvigorated to keep going and come up with even more enriching and empowering programs for the communities. We are further inspired to create and execute advocacies to fulfill our commitment to be truly relevant to our stakeholders and the society,” he said.

On top of its Gold Awards, Meralco and OMF programs also garnered Silver Anvil Awards for: Laging Handa, The One Meralco Back-to-School Program; Meralco Corporate Governance Awareness Campaign; The Relocatees & Informal Settlers Electrification (RAISE) Program; Access to Technology for Off-grid Public Schools through School Electrification Program; Communicating the Meralco Refund of Over-Recoveries for 2014-2016; and Advocating Consumer Empowerment Amidst February Rate Spike.

Meralco and OMF also won Silver Anvils for the following PR tools: Laging Handa: The One Meralco Back-to-School Program; the MVP Academic Achievement Awards; and the 2017 Meralco and One Meralco Foundation unified annual reports; and Lives Changed: The Meralco and One Meralco Foundation 2016 Unified Annual Reports.

Notably, Meralco also won the first-ever special Anvil Award as Public Relations Team of the Year at last year’s 52nd Anvil Awards for “demonstrating exemplary service and outstanding performance in shaping a mutually beneficial relationship with the public.”