Makati, Philippines – September 15, 2020 Ayala Corporation (Ayala) received five major honors for its COVID-19 initiatives at the recently concluded 2020 International Business Awards® (IBA), also known as the Stevie® Awards. Out of 3,800 nominations from companies across 63 nations and territories, Ayala won one Gold for its Project Ugnayan website, two Silvers for its “Most Valuable Employer” and “Most Valuable Corporate Response” entries, and two Bronzes for its “Tapat” and “Nandiyan Ka” corporate videos. The IBA is recognized as the world’s premier business awards program which honors the achievements and positive contributions of companies and working professionals worldwide.
Quenching the hunger for hope
Ayala’s “Project Ugnayan” website took home a Gold Stevie® for its chronicling of an unprecedented private sector initiative led by Ayala to combat widespread hunger at the onset of the pandemic. Featuring photographs by renowned photographer Xyza Bacani, the website illustrates how cooperation (“ugnayan”), instead of competition, can cultivate hope even during these uncertain times.
When the rigid Enhanced Community Quarantine was first implemented in Luzon, Ayala formed the Project Ugnayan consortium with 270 of the country’s largest private companies to quickly raise PHP 1.7 billion in just a few days. The project then enlisted Caritas Manila and the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation to distribute PHP 1,000 grocery vouchers to 1.7 million families or 7 million individuals in poor communities in the Greater Manila Area. With additional contributions from ABS-CBN’s Pantawid ng PagIbig, ADB and the government’s Bayan Bayanihan, and Jollibee’s FoodAID Program, food aid reached 2.8 million families, or over 14 million individuals.
View the website at www.projectugnayan.org.
Looking out for communities
Ayala’s two entries under the COVID-19 Responses Categories, entitled “Ayala Group of Companies Supercharged Response to COVID-19” and “Ayala Group Puts Employees First”, both earned Silver Stevies®. The entries detailed the group’s many COVID-19 initiatives and programs to support its employees, its customers, and the broader community to date.
The Ayala group so far has allocated over PHP 9.6 billion in COVID-19-related initiatives, including the conversion of the 9,700 square meters of the World Trade Center into a 502-bed quarantine facility; the construction and capacitation of seven biosafety level two laboratories across the country to support the government’s Task Force T3 in increasing the national testing capacity; and the donation of swabbing booths in all four mega swabbing centers located in Palacio de Maynila, Enderun College in Taguig, the Philippine Arena in Bulacan and the Mall of Asia in Pasay City.
For details on these various projects, visit www.ayala.com.ph.
Connecting with stakeholders and employees
Ayala also won two Bronze Stevies® for its “Tapat” and “Nandiyan Ka’ corporate videos.“Tapat”, a video love letter to the Filipino people, was released at Ayala’s first online Annual Stockholders’ Meeting last April 24, 2020, to assure its many stakeholders in simple and heartfelt language that Ayala remains steadfast in serving its countrymen’s needs in these challenging times.
“Nandiyan Ka”, on the other hand, was a tribute to the Ayala Group’s 18,000 essential workers featuring an original composition by Philippine National Artist Maestro Ryan Cayabyab. A music video was released online to give thanks and recognition to these workers across the Ayala’s various businesses, for their unfailing commitment during this global crisis.
The videos can be viewed at bit.ly/AyalaTapat and bit.ly/AyalaNandiyanKa.
“Ayala is deeply humbled by this acknowledgement from the International Business Awards®. In this time of COVID-19, our group has renewed its commitment to stand by the Filipino, and support its employees, stakeholders, and communities, as well as the government in defeating the virus that has deeply disrupted our country in many ways. Together, in the spirit of collaboration and nationhood, I believe that we can reshape our nation so that we can all emerge from this crisis as a stronger, more resilient Philippines that can venture as one into a Better Normal,” said John Philip S. Orbeta, Ayala Corporation Chief Human Resource Officer and Group Head of Corporate Resources.
Ayala Land, Inc., Ayala Malls, and Globe Telecom also bagged their own Stevies® at the 17th annual International Business Awards®.
About the Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in eight programs: the Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards, the German Stevie Awards, the Middle East & North Africa Stevie Awards, The American Business Awards®, The International Business Awards®, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, the Stevie Awards for Great Employers, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Stevie Awards competitions receive more than 12,000 nominations each year from organizations in more than 70 nations. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide.
Learn more about the Stevie Awards at http://www.StevieAwards.com.
For more information, please contact:
Yla Patricia G. Alcantara
Ayala Corporation, Brand Management and Reputation Head
Email: [email protected]
