Aboitiz pledges livelihood for Philippine soldiers

MANILA, Philippines — Conglomerate Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. has provided the country’s soldiers with sustainable livelihood through backyard farming.

The Aboitiz Group, through its social development arm Aboitiz Foundation Inc., is supporting the Pagkain Para sa mga Bayani program, an enterprise development program of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of National Defense.

Aboitiz donated 60 egg-laying machines to promote backyard farming as a sustainable livelihood and additional income to Filipino soldiers, especially those who were on the frontlines during the Marawi siege.

Each ELM kit contains 48 heads of ready-to-lay hens, galvanized steel cages, feed supply and other equipment.

An ELM is a backyard farming starter kit that allows the continuous production of eggs for 16 months. Each kit has the capacity to produce up to 46 eggs in a day.

“The machines will be of great help to the chosen community once they reach their respective beneficiaries. It is with this kind of endeavour that we are able to foster a culture of social responsibility among us,” Armed Forces of the Philippines Commander Ronald Villanueva said.

To date, Aboitiz has donated 44 ELM kits in various military camps in Compostela Valley, Davao City, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, and Zamboanga City.

Aboitiz food unit Pilmico Foods Corp. provided capability training prior to the turnover of ELM kits to ensure that beneficiaries will be able to sustain and expand their livelihood.

The Pagkain Para Sa Mga Bayani program is also supported by other Aboitiz companies including Aboitiz Power Corp., Davao Light and Power Co. Therma Mobile Inc., Therma South Inc., and Aboitiz Equity Ventures.