Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the National Power Corporation and Its Effects on the Dumagat

Abstract

As the old saying goes, no man is an island. What one lacks, the other provides. In a way, humans, though not their brother's keeper in the literal sense, are responsible, for each other and the environment. The actions people take always have an impact. The National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR), which is responsible for power generation and transmission in the country, is the subject of this study. The corporation has an institutionalized social responsibility program called Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Stewardship Program (CSRESP). The Corporate Communications Division is the one responsible for the program implementation. The National Power Corporation uses part of the Dumagat ancestral domain. The Dumagat, being a host community is one of the stakeholders of the corporation. Thus, they are entitled to the benefits of the CS RESP. This study aims to answer the main problem: What are the effects of the Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the National Power Corporation on Health, Education, Employment and Community Development of the Dumagat? Given the general objective: To study the effects of the Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the National Power Corporation on the Dumagat, there are also five specific objectives. The researcher utilized a framework based on the Philosophy and Process of Social Responsibility developed by Davis and Blomstrom. In order to obtain the data needed for this study, the researcher conducted interviews with the National Power Corporation. To validate the existence of the programs by NPC and know its effects on the Dumagat, the researcher also conducted a Participatory Rural Assessment. The National Power Corporation has various projects for the Dumagat. In tem1s of Ecology and Environmental Quality, NAPOCOR is more on information dissemination on forest protection. For Community Needs, the corporation provides livelihood programs and medical missions. The NAPOCOR also has the ER 1-94 where the fund for these community needs comes from. Business Giving projects are in the form of permission to build school buildings in the area or school building themselves. Aside from giving bonuses, the NPC has no labor relations' projects for the Dumagat. The project under Minorities and Disadvantaged Persons is casual employment. These projects are in line with guidelines of the CSRESP. Based on the Participatory Rural Assessment conducted by the researcher, these projects are properly implemented. The projects for the Dumagat that the NAPOCOR interviewees mentioned are all in existence. But there are also setbacks to each. The Dumagat are somehow aware of the existence of the CSR projects of the National Power Corporation geared towards the improvement of their community. Somehow because some Dumagat knew about certain projects that some other Dumagat have no knowledge of. It is only the corporation's information dissemination campaign on forest protection that could be deemed as effective because the Dumagat do not hunt inside the watershed nor engage in kaingin even if it is their nature to do so. The general effect of the programs is that they have in a way helped the Dumagat. In terms of health, the medicine􀆀·that the NPC gives during medical missions have helped sustain the patient until he or she is brought to the hospital. The corporation has also been of help in doing the latter. In terms of education, most of the Dumagat children in the Dike and Maputi Settlement are now studying. As Rosalina Santos of the Dike Settlement puts it " nakakatulong talaga and NPC sa pag-angat ng literasiya ng mga Dumagat dito sa Dike". In terms of employment, the livelihood programs provided by the NPC have been their source of living. Engaging in those programs has somehow augmented their income. Aside from the seedlings the National Power Corporation provides, which became the Dumagat source of everyday food, there is not much community development projects by NPC. The projects have only helped in a way. They have not fully helped the Dumagat because there are still other needs that have to be addressed in line with these programs .. Given these findings, the researcher also presented recommendations for the National Power Corporation, the Dumagat, and for future Organizational Communication researchers.