Corporate social responsibility by nature is, at the very least, complies with government mandate for companies to give back. But there’s a more romantic, nay, patriotic element that speaks not only of gratitude but an earnest desire for organizations to do good even beyond the so-called triple bottom line.
As a globally successful brand, Toyota is doing more than its fair share to mobilize helping hands, resources, and other forms of support in various domains. Locally, Toyota Motor Philippines Foundation (TMP Foundation) is the “social and humanitarian arm” of Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation (TMP), overseeing work across four areas: education, health, environment, and community service.
Recently, TMP Foundation took a pause to commemorate 35 years of “dedicated social and humanitarian service,” with an event at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Bonifacio Global City. Attended by public officials and private partners, the affair was also an opportunity to announce the addition of a new advocacy pillar, “Mobility+”.
It’s a move that allows the foundation to expand and amplify its impact. “In synergy with our existing four pillars, this will enable us to create even more effective programs through the mobility of people, mobility of things, mobility of information, and mobility of creative and free ideas for many people,” said TMP and TMP Foundation Chairman Alfred V. Ty.
Late Metrobank Group and TMP Founding Chairman Dr. George SK Ty had said the conglomerate wants to “give back to society and the communities from which we derive resources.” Explained the younger Ty: “This vision was not merely an aspiration; it was a profound understanding of TMP’s role within the community – to improve the lives of our society, to contribute to a more equitable future for them.”
Meanwhile, in his own speech, TMP Foundation President Jose Maria Aligada briefly explained the work that organization has been engaged via its focus pillars. Bannering its involvement in education is the foundation’s Automotive Education Program, executed in partnership with technical schools nationwide. “(It has) helped prepare many young Filipinos for job opportunities here and abroad. More than 1,200 scholars have graduated under the TMP Foundation Scholarship Program, each one a testament to the transformative power of education.” In addition, its Adopt-a-School Program in Pulong Sta. Cruz Elementary School in Santa Rosa City has involved the donation of, among other tools, laptops and TVs to each classroom” and providing connections to the internet.”
The centerpiece of the education thrust is the George Ty-Toyota Asian Cultural Center at the University of the Philippines. “This is a place for learning, culture exchange, and building bridges across Asia,” maintained Aligada. Then through its focus on health, the TMP Foundation “has served over 101,000 beneficiaries” through medical, dental, and surgical outreach programs. “We supported the Lab for All program, led by First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos by helping to expand access to basic healthcare for underserved communities,” he shared.
TMP Foundation has also “planted many thousands of trees and contributed significantly to our nation’s reforestation goals,” according to Aligada. Through its Adopt-a-Forest Program, a 10-hectare reforestation area within the Makiling Botanic Gardens has been cared for and maintained with the University of the Philippines-Los Baños. To support the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, TMP Foundation donated a Tamaraw vehicle and Bantay Tamaraw Kits to help protect the endangered species.
In the area of community service, TMP Foundation with the City Government of Santa Rosa and Gawad Kalinga turned over 160 homes in the Toyota City of Santa Rosa Gawad Kalinga Village.
Mobility+ will now allow the foundation to expand its attention to the need for mobility and access – particularly to and for health professionals and the underserved segment of the populace they seek to treat or see. Spearheading the foray into the new area is the Healthcare Mobility for All (or HEAL) Project, led by Japan’s Toyota Mobility Foundation and undertaken with the Philippine General Hospital (PGH). The memorandum of understanding the three parties was formally signed at the anniversary event.
The HEAL Project is envisioned to “address critical mobility needs and improve access to basic healthcare services in underserved communities,” to be achieved with the deployment of two mobile clinics (housed in Toyota Coaster units) to deliver essential medical laboratory services directly to patients in the pilot area Cavite (particularly Ternate), and the fielding of three units of the Tamaraw Utility Vans exclusively for healthcare workers traveling to and from PGH.
The mobile clinics will, quite simply, make medical diagnostic services more readily available to people where they are. “The clinics will be integrated into the existing PGH IT systems that enable online consultation booking and will potentially be supported by a new queueing system to ensure efficient operations. This solution aims to optimize the time to simple diagnosis and treatment for patients in these areas,” said TMP Mobility Foundation in a statement.
PGH Director General Dr. Gerardo Legaspi revealed during the Q&A session at the event that PGH sees around 707,000 patients a year. “Around 30 percent of patients come from CALABARZON – and a majority of these patients come from Cavite. In the data that we have in the outpatient department, surprisingly, (many patients) still go for hypertension, diabetes, urinary tract infection consults. If we’re able to bring these services to the communities, you can imagine how many patients will be spared a trip to Manila.”
The doctor also maintained that the laboratory facilities that the vans will have “are probably even more advanced than some of the other nearby laboratories in Cavite.”
Speaking to members of the media after the event, TMF Program General Manager Nanako Kumamoto shared that the two mobile clinics and all the equipment therein will be turned over to PGH healthcare personnel. These are expected to be deployed is in September. Additionally, she said that the shuttles (to be deployed in August) are necessary, per discussions with PGH, particularly for those commuting during nighttime or early morning when safety is a very real consideration.
TMP Foundation said that “this solution offers a more coordinated and comfortable way to travel to and from the hospital, reducing reliance on multiple public transportation transfers and minimizing safety concerns, commuting expenses and through pooling, and therefore cutting carbon emissions.”
The HEAL Project is potentially another feather in the cap for Toyota Motor Philippines, TMF Executive Program Director Pras Genesh revealed in his response to this writer’s question, “This is the first location that we’re doing it within Asia region,” he said, and likened it to the deployment of Toyota units for the use of healthcare workers during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“(The) solution that we prepared here in the Philippines (was) replicated in Thailand, Indonesia, and India as well. So the issue of providing access to healthcare is a common issue, unfortunately across the region, and we just as we did during the time of COVID-19, by creating this kind of a system, creating the program, creating the methodology, we could share it to other countries as well,” he concluded.
