Road to Resilience. At the National Resilience Council Foundation’s Resilient Local Government Units Program Colloquium last May, Aboitiz Foods’ partners from the local government of Iligan presented the city’s localized disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation strategies toward building a resilient, empowered, and future-ready city. / Photo Courtesy: National Resilience Council Foundation
Guided by the Aboitiz Group’s commitment to advancing business and communities, Aboitiz Foods strives to help build a better future for the communities where it operates – a purpose-driven and synergistic move built on science, shared responsibility, and long-term resilience demonstrated in Iligan City.
Fourteen years after the devastation of Typhoon Washi (local name: Sendong), Iligan City is now emerging as a model for resilience not only in Mindanao but throughout thewhole country, through the Adopt-A-City Program — Aboitiz Foods’ corporate social responsibility initiative through Pilmico Foods Corporation (Pilmico).
Launched in 2022, the Adopt-A-City Program is an ongoing public-private-people partnership among Aboitiz Foods, the local government of Iligan, Aboitiz Foundation, National Resilience Council Foundation, Inc., and Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT). Through this program, Aboitiz Foods adopts a more proactive, long-term strategy for disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation across the 44 barangays in Iligan City.
Guided by a three-phase framework, Adopt-A-City strengthens Iligan’s disaster resilience across different sectors and levels by advancing science-based tools and solutions, engaging multiple stakeholders, and promoting inclusive governance systems that help the city prepare for, adapt to, and recover from climate and disaster risks.
“Iligan is more than just a host city for Pilmico’s entire feed and flour operations in the Philippines; it has been our home for over 60 years,” said Alexis Revantad, Aboitiz Foods Vice President for Iligan Site Management and Flour Operations, adding, “By investing in resilience and helping the city adapt to climate risks, we’re protecting more than 368,000 lives—their livelihoods, and their future.”
The Adopt-A-City Program empowers local leaders, the academe, youth, civil society, and communities through people-centered capacity-building interventions—uniting Iligan in a shared journey and responsibility toward resilience.
Empowering communities. By advancing science-based tools, promoting inclusive governance systems, and conducting capacity-building training sessions, Aboitiz Foods’ Adopt-A-City Program in Iligan City empowers leaders from the city to the barangay level to help communities create climate-adaptive plans and strategies that strengthen disaster resilience. / Photo Courtesy: National Resilience Council Foundation
Since its launch, the program has achieved significant milestones, including a validated Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment, a Local Climate Change Action Plan, the creation of the Iligan City Resilience Committee, the Resilience Local Government System Scorecard baseline for identifying resilience gaps, and the rollout of the Barangay Resilience Bingo Scorecard for grassroots risk planning.
In just three years, Iligan’s resilience score leapt to 84.38% across five program pillars—an extraordinary transformation from a near-zero baseline. In 2024, Iligan City also received a Gawad KALASAG Fully Compliant Award, the country’s highest honor for disaster preparedness, given to local government units, institutions, and individuals for their excellent implementation of Disaster Risk Reduction and Management and Climate Change Adaptation programs.
Now in its Adapt and Transform phase, the Adopt-A-City Program has helped shift Iligan from reactive response to proactive resilience-building, ensuring that the tragedy of Typhoon Sendong, which claimed hundreds of lives and devastated local industries, will never be repeated.
“Through the Adopt-A-City Program, we are not just responding to risks – we are transforming our city into a model of proactive governance, innovation, and community-driven solutions,” said Iligan City Mayor Frederick Siao.
Anchored on its brand promise, “Together we nourish the future,” Aboitiz Foods contributes to the Aboitiz Group’s Great Transformation journey through initiatives that directly support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Adopt-A-City Program directly aligns with the Philippine Development Plan 2023–2028 and contributes to several SDGs, including Climate Action (SDG 13), Sustainable Cities (SDG 11), and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17).
As climate risks grow across the country and worldwide, Iligan’s transformation serves as a strong example of how partnership and our core values create real impact. Anchored in the Aboitiz Group’s A+10 core behaviors, Aboitiz Foods’ Adopt-A-City Program offers a proven blueprint for communities everywhere. It shows that when we unite with a clear goal, we do more than just protect communities, lives, and economies; we drive the Great Transformation forward, one empowered, resilient city at a time.
