JTI Batangas factory bags PEZA award as outstanding employer

MANILA, Philippines — For continuously generating employment and conducting skills development programs at the height of the pandemic, Japan Tobacco Inc.’s (JTI) manufacturing arm, JTI Asia Manufacturing Corp (JTI-AMC), has been conferred anew by the  Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) the Outstanding Employer Award for 2020.

This marks the second consecutive year the JTI-AMC factory, which is located inside the Lima Ecozone in Malvar, Batangas, has been feted with the award.

JTI-AMC, which commenced operations in 2017, employs 900 people and serves 15 global markets where JTI has presence.

PEZA also cited JTI-AMC for its Outstanding Community Project (CSR), the first time it has bestowed this award to JTI under the CSR category.

“We extend our sincerest gratitude to JTI for its notable efforts towards generating significant employment and providing excellent employee welfare programs together with social welfare programs that greatly benefit the Filipino community,” PEZA director general Charito Plaza said.

Elena Trusova, president of JTI-AMC, said the two awards won by JTI-AMC confirm the company’s deep commitment to its employees’ welfare and its continuing effort to give back to the communities where JTI does business.

“This PEZA award further validates our global top employer award which we have received for the past seven years. It was made sweeter by PEZA’s recognition of our community investment projects that are focused in sectors and communities where we believe we can make a real difference,” Trusova said.

The community project cited by PEZA was the donation of pandemic response packs by JTI-AMC, including PPEs, sanitizers, facemasks, face shields, and food packs to communities heavily impacted by COVID-19, and transport support to locally-stranded employees.

JTIP general manager John Freda lauded PEZA for its role in promoting and championing the export sector and manufacturing industry, which are key drivers in a country’s economic development.

“A robust export sector with a strong manufacturing base are key ingredients in achieving economic development. We are extremely proud to be part of this essential role recognized by PEZA,” Freda said.