Foundation cited for its support for churches

The Roman Catholic prelate of La Union has commended the social action arm of cigarette manufacturer, Mighty Corporation (MC), for giving top priority to apostolic work and Catholic education in its programs and projects.

Bishop Rodolfo Beltran of San Fernando City said MC’s Wong Chu King Foundation (WCKF) has donated to chruch projects and funded the education of poor students in Lagawe, Bontoc, including four seminarians.

“The parents of these students are low-income farmers producing only for local consumption. You can imagine the positive impact this kind of support has for them,” Beltran said.

The foundaion renovated the Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Piat Church in Piat, Cagayan in 2012 and the Diocesan Shrine of Immaculate Conception in Naic, Cavite last year.

Created in 1990, the foundation aims to perpetuate the memory of Wong Chu King, the family patriarch, a philanthropist known for his generosity to the poor. The foundation’s thrust include sholarship programs and raising funds for charitable causes.

Auxiliary Bishop Ricardo Baccay of Tuguegarao City described WCKF’s work as “a step in the the direction ... if WCKF is out to help schools, putting up libraries is the best form of help it can give.”

Archbishop emeritus Diosdado Talamayan of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao City said: “I have personally known Mrs. Nelia Wong Chu King, WCKF chariman of the board of trustees. She and her family are great devotees of Our Lady of Piat. They have erected a chapel in Malolos City, Bulacan, dedicated to Our Lady of Piat

Mighty Corporation’s foundation turned over the renovation project in Cavite

Mighty Corporation’s CSR arm,The Wong Chu King Foundation turned over its renovation project for the historic Diocesan Shrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the largest church in all of Cavite, back to its parish in Naic town during the foundation’s 24th anniversary last year/

The non-government organization has been supporting apostolic work, strengthened the church’s outer wall structure with limestone and built a new garden and fountain for it, said Alexander Wongchuking, WCKF executive director.

“We cannot allow this historic church to go into disrepair because it had not only strengthened the Filipino faith but also stands as a mute witness to the martyrdom of the defenders of Philippine freedom and nationhood,” added Wongchuking, recalling the church’s role in the fight for Philippine independence from Spanish, American and Japanese conquerors.

The said project was started in June 2013 and completed last February. Wongchuking said the church had always been near to the hearts of the Wongchuking family and all WCKF board officers and members since Nelia Dy Wongchuking, WCKF president and chairman of the board, was born in Naic and traces her roots to the town and its church.

“Our project aims to maintain the original structure, essence and sanctity of the church,” said James Navarette, WCKF general manager.

“At first, the foundation focused on repairing the church’s roof and ceiling. But Mrs. Wongchuking heard of the personal project of Fr. Virgilio Saenz-Mendoza, the parish priest, and the people of Naic to refurbish the outer walls of the church,” Navarette explained.

Mighty Corporation assures leaf growers P10m twin projects

Last year, there are 200 tobacco farmer leaders in Pangasinan, La Union and Ilocos provinces and Mighty Corporation collaborated in a partnership which the company commits for a new major player in the cigarette industry.

Mighty Corporation Executive Vice President Oscar P. Barrientos said that they asked for help of the National Tobacco Administration about buying P10-million kilograms tobacco leaves and the multi-pronged P10-million Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for tobacco farmers and their families.

“We are grateful and we are looking forward to the firm commitments of Mighty Corporation to help the 65,000 strong tobacco farmers in the Philippines with their pronouncements this year to purchase 10-million kilograms of tobacco leaves and the P10-million outreach projects for tobacco farmers,” said Mario Cabasal, president of the National Federation of Tobacco Growers and Cooperatives.

Cabasal has been overwhelmed over Mighty’s commitments of purchasing 10 million kilograms of tobacco leaves. Thousands of farmers in Pangasinan and the Ilocos provinces have expressed relief that their tobacco leaves will have a profitable market in the country.”

“Now that we are assured of an alternative market, besides other tobacco companies, our members will again be inspired to devote larger areas to the cultivation of Ilocandia’s most important cash crop,” he said.

Mighty Corporation’s foundation turned over the renovation project in Cavite

Mighty Corporation’s CSR arm,The Wong Chu King Foundation turned over its renovation project for the historic Diocesan Shrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the largest church in all of Cavite, back to its parish in Naic town during the foundation’s 24th anniversary last year/

The non-government organization has been supporting apostolic work, strengthened the church’s outer wall structure with limestone and built a new garden and fountain for it, said Alexander Wongchuking, WCKF executive director.

“We cannot allow this historic church to go into disrepair because it had not only strengthened the Filipino faith but also stands as a mute witness to the martyrdom of the defenders of Philippine freedom and nationhood,” added Wongchuking, recalling the church’s role in the fight for Philippine independence from Spanish, American and Japanese conquerors.

The said project was started in June 2013 and completed last February. Wongchuking said the church had always been near to the hearts of the Wongchuking family and all WCKF board officers and members since Nelia Dy Wongchuking, WCKF president and chairman of the board, was born in Naic and traces her roots to the town and its church.

“Our project aims to maintain the original structure, essence and sanctity of the church,” said James Navarette, WCKF general manager.

“At first, the foundation focused on repairing the church’s roof and ceiling. But Mrs. Wongchuking heard of the personal project of Fr. Virgilio Saenz-Mendoza, the parish priest, and the people of Naic to refurbish the outer walls of the church,” Navarette explained.

Mighty Corporation pushed the use of organic pesticides

Filipino cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corporation has been urging to alternative use for tobacco. It is to help reduce Filipino farmers’ reliance on chemical-based pesticides, and also to increase tobacco farmers’ income, and protect the environment.

According to Oscar Barrientos, Mighty executive vice president and spokesman that the move was part of the company’s corporate social responsibility thrust. He noted that a small but growing number of Filipino farmers were shifting from chemical-based to organic pesticides, or a combination of the two. “This trend should be encouraged,” he added.

They have been coordinating with National Tobacco Administration (NTA), Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and University of the Philippines in Los Baños, Laguna (UPLB) in this effort.

Mighty Corporation assures leaf growers P10m twin projects

Last year, there are 200 tobacco farmer leaders in Pangasinan, La Union and Ilocos provinces and Mighty Corporation collaborated in a partnership which the company commits for a new major player in the cigarette industry.

Mighty Corporation Executive Vice President Oscar P. Barrientos said that they asked for help of the National Tobacco Administration about buying P10-million kilograms tobacco leaves and the multi-pronged P10-million Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for tobacco farmers and their families.

“We are grateful and we are looking forward to the firm commitments of Mighty Corporation to help the 65,000 strong tobacco farmers in the Philippines with their pronouncements this year to purchase 10-million kilograms of tobacco leaves and the P10-million outreach projects for tobacco farmers,” said Mario Cabasal, president of the National Federation of Tobacco Growers and Cooperatives.

Cabasal has been overwhelmed over Mighty’s commitments of purchasing 10 million kilograms of tobacco leaves. Thousands of farmers in Pangasinan and the Ilocos provinces have expressed relief that their tobacco leaves will have a profitable market in the country.”

“Now that we are assured of an alternative market, besides other tobacco companies, our members will again be inspired to devote larger areas to the cultivation of Ilocandia’s most important cash crop,” he said.

Mighty Corporation pushed the use of organic pesticides

Filipino cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corporation has been urging to alternative use for tobacco. It is to help reduce Filipino farmers’ reliance on chemical-based pesticides, and also to increase tobacco farmers’ income, and protect the environment.

According to Oscar Barrientos, Mighty executive vice president and spokesman that the move was part of the company’s corporate social responsibility thrust. He noted that a small but growing number of Filipino farmers were shifting from chemical-based to organic pesticides, or a combination of the two. “This trend should be encouraged,” he added.

They have been coordinating with National Tobacco Administration (NTA), Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and University of the Philippines in Los Baños, Laguna (UPLB) in this effort.

Restoring of historic churches in the country supported by Mighty Corporation

Mighty Corporation’s CSR arm, Wong Chu King Foundation Inc. (WCKF) has been supporting the seismic retrofitting of historic churches in Philippine provinces following the earthquake that damaged historical and religious structures in Bohol and Cebu last October 2013.

The foundation has been assisted the renovation of the roofs and ceiling of several churches in the country such as Diocesan Shrine of Immaculate Conception Church in Naic, Cavite and the reconstruction of the Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Piat Church in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan.

“Churches are also symbols of strength and hope for Filipinos. To see a church survive earthquakes and other calamities can easily uplift the spirits of our people,” said WCKF General Manager James Vincent Navarette.

“The devastation brought about by the recent Visayas earthquake has firmed up our advocacy to build more churches and strengthen the Filipino faith,” he said.

“However, we also understand that this is not enough. We have to make sure that the design and structure of these buildings, particularly the old and existing ones, are safe and resistant to calamities such as earthquakes.”Navarette said.

For those who didn’t know seismic retrofitting, it is the process of remodeling structures to make them more resistant to damage brought about by earthquakes and other seismic activities. Also, retrofitting aims to design, build, and maintain structures to comply with building codes and withstand seismic effects while sustaining an acceptable level of damage.

The WCKF foundation has been renovating churches since 2009.

Foundation cited for its support for churches

The Roman Catholic prelate of La Union has commended the social action arm of cigarette manufacturer, Mighty Corporation (MC), for giving top priority to apostolic work and Catholic education in its programs and projects.

Bishop Rodolfo Beltran of San Fernando City said MC’s Wong Chu King Foundation (WCKF) has donated to chruch projects and funded the education of poor students in Lagawe, Bontoc, including four seminarians.

“The parents of these students are low-income farmers producing only for local consumption. You can imagine the positive impact this kind of support has for them,” Beltran said.

The foundaion renovated the Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Piat Church in Piat, Cagayan in 2012 and the Diocesan Shrine of Immaculate Conception in Naic, Cavite last year.

Created in 1990, the foundation aims to perpetuate the memory of Wong Chu King, the family patriarch, a philanthropist known for his generosity to the poor. The foundation’s thrust include sholarship programs and raising funds for charitable causes.

Auxiliary Bishop Ricardo Baccay of Tuguegarao City described WCKF’s work as “a step in the the direction ... if WCKF is out to help schools, putting up libraries is the best form of help it can give.”

Archbishop emeritus Diosdado Talamayan of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao City said: “I have personally known Mrs. Nelia Wong Chu King, WCKF chariman of the board of trustees. She and her family are great devotees of Our Lady of Piat. They have erected a chapel in Malolos City, Bulacan, dedicated to Our Lady of Piat, which was blessed by many Bishops led by Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales in 2012.”

Restoring of historic churches in the country supported by Mighty Corporation

Mighty Corporation’s CSR arm, Wong Chu King Foundation Inc. (WCKF) has been supporting the seismic retrofitting of historic churches in Philippine provinces following the earthquake that damaged historical and religious structures in Bohol and Cebu last October 2013.

The foundation has been assisted the renovation of the roofs and ceiling of several churches in the country such as Diocesan Shrine of Immaculate Conception Church in Naic, Cavite and the reconstruction of the Basilica Minore of Our Lady of Piat Church in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan.

“Churches are also symbols of strength and hope for Filipinos. To see a church survive earthquakes and other calamities can easily uplift the spirits of our people,” said WCKF General Manager James Vincent Navarette.

“The devastation brought about by the recent Visayas earthquake has firmed up our advocacy to build more churches and strengthen the Filipino faith,” he said.

“However, we also understand that this is not enough. We have to make sure that the design and structure of these buildings, particularly the old and existing ones, are safe and resistant to calamities such as earthquakes.”Navarette said.

For those who didn’t know seismic retrofitting, it is the process of remodeling structures to make them more resistant to damage brought about by earthquakes and other seismic activities. Also, retrofitting aims to design, build, and maintain structures to comply with building codes and withstand seismic effects while sustaining an acceptable level of damage.

The WCKF foundation has been renovating churches since 2009.

Mighty Corporation awarded as outstanding company in the country

MIGHTY Corporation was awarded the Outstanding Corporation of the Year Award (2015-2016) by the Philippine Council of Management Research Institute Inc. This award was given in recognition of its business achievements as well as its social, cultural and religious impact through Wong Chu King Foundation.

The company was founded by Wong Chu King, a poor immigrant from Amoy, China right after World War II. Together with the support of his family and also with the help of his friends Ong Lowa, Baa Dy and Ong Pay he started La Campana Fabrica de Tabacos Inc. This was later renamed to Tobacco Industries of the Philippines and to what is now known as MIGHTY Corp.

Since its inception more than 70 years ago, it has continually battled and succeeded against economic turmoil and discerning public taste. It now has three factories and is one of the biggest tax payers of the country.

The Wong Chu King Foundation is the social responsibility arm of the company. Its goal is to “transformation through charity” by engaging in educational and apostolic related endeavours especially in tobacco farming communities. This is done by giving out educational assistance to the children of the local tobacco farmers who wanted to help their family get out of the poverty cycle.

Mighty Corporation’s CSR arm offers scholarships to tobacco farmers’ children

For the past several years, wholly Filipino owned company Mighty Corporation continued their programs thru their CSR arm, Wong Chu King Foundation’s (WCKF) educational assistance. It consists of 100 college scholarship grants, to poor but deserving students who are children of tobacco farmers in Northern Luzon.

“Formal schooling is often too expensive and priced well beyond the reach of the poor, including tobacco farmers,” Adan, a retired general said. He added that scholarship program is one of three components of a P10-million joint CSR project of Mighty Corporation (MC) and the National Federation of Tobacco Farmers and Cooperatives Inc. (NAFTAC) that aims to benefit 65,000 farmers in Pangasinan, La Union, Abra, Cagayan, Isabela, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur.

“This is our way of thanking the farmers for helping to make our company what it is today,” said Adan at the formal signing rites for the project at a hotel in Bauang,             La Union last February 8, 2014.

“We are happy that Mighty Corporation, through its Wong Chu King Foundation, has stood firm on its commitment to help 65,000 tobacco farmers in the Philippines,” said Mario Cabasal, NAFTAC national president.

Retired judge Oscar Barrientos, MC executive vice president and spokesman, said the WCKF initially offered scholarships to the dependents of active MC employees but later expanded this to include dependents of retired MC employees and poor but deserving students with excellent academic records.

“Through this program, we hope to help the farmers and their children become competitive in the global market and earn sustainable incomes,” Barrientos said.

The scholarship program is in support of the National Tobacco Administration’s scholarship program for poor but deserving graduating high school students and dependents of tobacco farmers.

Other components of the project include agricultural production assistance, consisting of 16 hand tractors worth P2.5 million and 90 irrigation pumps worth P1.1 million; and institutional support for the annual search for outstanding tobacco farmers and cooperatives by the National Tobacco Administration (NTA).

Mighty Corporation awarded as outstanding company in the country

MIGHTY Corporation was awarded the Outstanding Corporation of the Year Award (2015-2016) by the Philippine Council of Management Research Institute Inc. This award was given in recognition of its business achievements as well as its social, cultural and religious impact through Wong Chu King Foundation.

The company was founded by Wong Chu King, a poor immigrant from Amoy, China right after World War II. Together with the support of his family and also with the help of his friends Ong Lowa, Baa Dy and Ong Pay he started La Campana Fabrica de Tabacos Inc. This was later renamed to Tobacco Industries of the Philippines and to what is now known as MIGHTY Corp.

Since its inception more than 70 years ago, it has continually battled and succeeded against economic turmoil and discerning public taste. It now has three factories and is one of the biggest tax payers of the country.

The Wong Chu King Foundation is the social responsibility arm of the company. Its goal is to “transformation through charity” by engaging in educational and apostolic related endeavours especially in tobacco farming communities. This is done by giving out educational assistance to the children of the local tobacco farmers who wanted to help their family get out of the poverty cycle.

Mighty Corporation’s CSR arm offers scholarships to tobacco farmers’ children

For the past several years, wholly Filipino owned company Mighty Corporation continued their programs thru their CSR arm, Wong Chu King Foundation’s (WCKF) educational assistance. It consists of 100 college scholarship grants, to poor but deserving students who are children of tobacco farmers in Northern Luzon.

“Formal schooling is often too expensive and priced well beyond the reach of the poor, including tobacco farmers,” Adan, a retired general said. He added that scholarship program is one of three components of a P10-million joint CSR project of Mighty Corporation (MC) and the National Federation of Tobacco Farmers and Cooperatives Inc. (NAFTAC) that aims to benefit 65,000 farmers in Pangasinan, La Union, Abra, Cagayan, Isabela, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur.

“This is our way of thanking the farmers for helping to make our company what it is today,” said Adan at the formal signing rites for the project at a hotel in Bauang,             La Union last February 8, 2014.

“We are happy that Mighty Corporation, through its Wong Chu King Foundation, has stood firm on its commitment to help 65,000 tobacco farmers in the Philippines,” said Mario Cabasal, NAFTAC national president.

Retired judge Oscar Barrientos, MC executive vice president and spokesman, said the WCKF initially offered scholarships to the dependents of active MC employees but later expanded this to include dependents of retired MC employees and poor but deserving students with excellent academic records.

“Through this program, we hope to help the farmers and their children become competitive in the global market and earn sustainable incomes,” Barrientos said.

The scholarship program is in support of the National Tobacco Administration’s scholarship program for poor but deserving graduating high school students and dependents of tobacco farmers.

Other components of the project include agricultural production assistance, consisting of 16 hand tractors worth P2.5 million and 90 irrigation pumps worth P1.1 million; and institutional support for the annual search for outstanding tobacco farmers and cooperatives by the National Tobacco Administration (NTA).