PASAY CITY, Philippines, August 30, 2024 – Guided by the vision of serving as
catalysts for responsible development in the communities they serve, SM has put
corporate social responsibility alongside expansion and sustainability as one of the key
drivers of its growth.
SM’s social good programs are anchored on making meaningful impact on critical areas
that affect the most vulnerable communities, among them in the health, education and
jobs sectors.
By synergizing with a diverse network of partners and institutions from the public and
private sectors, and leveraging its scale and wide footprint, SM is able to harness the
full potential of its programs for the chosen communities and beneficiaries.
“SM Foundation integrates itself in communities to grasp the unique social challenges
they face, enabling us to create localized, relevant, and sustainable programs.
Engaging stakeholders in both planning and execution drives the success of our social
good initiatives,” said Deborah Pe-Sy, Executive Director of SM Foundation, the
corporate social responsibility arm of the SM group.
Accessible healthcare to vulnerable communities
SM Foundation’s efforts to refurbish medical facilities, especially in Geographically
Isolated and Disadvantaged (GIDA) areas, are geared to meet PhilHealth Accreditation
standards. The foundation works with the national government and respective LGUs,
and immerses itself within respective communities to identify how best to facilitate
medical services to remote areas.
Just recently, SM Foundation refurbished the Polomolok East Community Clinic, a
health center that caters to nearly 50,000 individuals, predominantly in GIDAs, in South
Cotabato.
The renovated facility now includes areas for specialized programs such as Animal Bite
and Treatment, TB-Dots, Nebulization, Counseling, and Family Planning. To support
healthcare workers in their roles, the project provided an enhanced dental clinic,
operation room, conference room, physicians room, and PWD-friendly restroom.
SM Foundation refurbished the Polomolok East Community Clinic in South Cotabato.
The Polomok clinic also features eco-conscious appliances, air-cleaning paints, locally
sourced plants and a Rainwater Catchment System.
Embracing digital transformation, SM DigiKonsulta was also launched for
teleconsultations and digitalization of patient records. The foundation also partnered
with an NGO for a renovated pharmacy to provide the communities with reliable access
to medicines.
Tools for learning
SM Foundation’s education programs place particular focus on serving underprivileged
learners and communities. Its partnership with government, particularly in the
Department of Education’s Adopt-A-School Program, aims to address crucial
infrastructure needs and classroom deficits. To date SM Foundation’s partnership with
DepEd has resulted in 366 classrooms built, benefiting 18,300 students.
Among the beneficiaries is the San Antonio Elementary School (SAES) in Batangas,
where SM Foundation constructed a two-floor, four-classroom building. “Instead of
class hours being from 6 a.m. to 12 noon, it will now be from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Our
students will now have enough time for intervention activities such as reading,
numeracy and more,” said Joy Obreo, principal of SAES.
The SM Store’s Shop & Share for Education program is likewise focused on education,
helping address the lack of basic school supplies. It’s an innovative program as it invites
shoppers to contribute to the effort by sponsoring a school kit for a minimum single-
receipt purchase.
Shop & Share for Education aims to distribute back-to-school kits to 12,000 grade
school pupils in more than 70 public schools nationwide. The first Shop & Share
initiative in 2023 benefited 20 schools across the country, in partnership with various
NGOs and the LGUs of the adopted schools. This year’s initiative will have each SM
Store adopt one school beneficiary.
An empowered workforce
In January, SM launched the Jobs Opportunities Building Skills (J.O.B.S.) initiative
under the Private Sector Advisory Council of the government. Its aim is to help provide
quality jobs through job fairs and upskilling courses made even more effective by
strategic partnerships with the public and private sectors.
As yet another testament to building partnerships, SM J.O.B.S. recently signed a
memorandum of understanding with the American Chamber of Commerce of the
Philippines to provide upskilling opportunities to thousands of employees within the
AmCham network and allow AmCham’s more than 800-member companies to
participate in SM Job Fairs across the country. To date, JOBS has hosted 130 job fairs
in key SM malls, accommodated over 70,000 job seekers, and hired almost 11,000 on
the spot.
By understanding how best to be of service to the communities who have graciously
hosted them, and acting as an avenue by which people can make their own
contributions to the social good, SM is able to provide a consistently high standard of
service and contribute significantly to community development.
About SM Investments Corporation
SM Investments Corporation is one of the leading Philippine companies that is invested
in market-leading businesses in retail, banking, and property. It also invests in ventures
that capture high growth opportunities in the emerging Philippine economy.
SM’s retail operations are the country’s largest and most diversified, consisting of
grocery stores, department stores and specialty retail stores. SM’s property arm, SM
Prime Holdings, Inc., is the largest integrated property developer in the Philippines with
interests in malls, residences, offices, hotels, and convention centers as well as tourism-
related property developments. SM’s interests in banking are in BDO Unibank, Inc., the
country’s largest bank, and China Banking Corporation, the fourth largest private
domestic bank.
