With contributions from Victor Silva, Antonette Mendoza, and Mags Maguad

Following his recent tour of AboitizPower's geothermal facilities in Laguna and Albay, Aboitiz Group President & CEO Sabin Aboitiz once again made site inspections at business unit locations and met with Aboitiz frontliners at Pagbilao 3 in Quezon and Republic Cement and AboitizLand, both in Batangas.

Pagbilao 3
Pagbilao, Quezon
August 7

At Pagbilao Thermal Power Plant in Quezon, SMA was joined by AboitizPower SVP for Regulatory Affairs and External Relations Danel Aboitiz, AboitizPower AVP Deputy Controller for Coal BU Samel Aboitiz, and Therma Luzon, Inc. (TLI) Plant Manager David John Jordan.

The group was accompanied by the facility’s safety team during the plant visual inspection. Afterward, they proceeded to the meeting room for a discussion with TeaM Energy management.

Among those from TeaM present during the meeting were plant manager Hilarion Medrano, VP for Operations Mac Lee, VP for Maintenance Lito Aquino, and Head of Engineering Alex Bathan.

The 420-megawatt Pagbilao 3 unit is operated by Pagbilao Energy Corporation, a joint venture between AboitizPower and TeaM Philippines Energy.

Also Read: SMA Joins AboitizPower Leaders On Visit to APRI MakBan And Tiwi

Republic Cement Batangas Plant
Taysan, Batangas
August 14

The week after his Pagbilao trip, SMA visited Republic Cement's Batangas Plant accompanied by AboitizPower SVP Regulatory Affairs and External Relations Danel Aboitiz, Hedcor President & COO Carlos Aboitiz, and Republic Cement President & CEO Nabil Francis.

Republic Cement remains steadfast in its commitment towards health and safety through the stringent implementation of its COVID-19 Safety Protocols. At all of the company's sites, including the Batangas facility, these begin with strict pre-entry requirements and health screening, which SMA and company followed prior to entering the compound.

During SMA's last visit to the Republic Cement's Batangas plant on January 13, 2017. In touring of the facility, he was particularly impressed with the rotopacker and auto-palletizer performance. This time around, the hosts took the opportunity to introduce the plant's new management team and showcase various changes, including improvements in the packhouse and the fact that Republic Batangas Plant is now clinker neutral.

Our goal is to showcase the people and highlights of the performance we have here in Batangas, the safety performance of the plant as well as our preparations on the new normal and how we implement it. The visit went well. Our CEO (Nabil) acknowledged the good preparations, which was also acknowledged by Sabin and his group.

–  Erwin Cruz, Plant Manager, Republic Cement Batangas Plant

Throughout one's stay on site, team members and visitors alike will come across constant reminders on social distancing, frequent hand sanitation, and wearing proper PPE through signage posted throughout the site. Safety officers and fellow TMs are also strict about health and safety practices, part of the overall culture of care and personal responsibility not only for one's own welfare but also that of colleagues. Republic Cement has a ‘speak up policy’ that empowers team members to voice out their concerns without fear and with urgency about unsafe acts or points for improvement that lead to a learning experience for all and, ultimately, building a stronger, safer Republic.

AboitizLand Seafront Residences
San Juan, Batangas
August 14

Once they arrived at Seafront Residences, SMA, Danel, Carlos, and Nabil followed safety protocols as they did at the Republic Cement plant—temperature taken, face mask and shield checked, and hands sanitized—all of which, by now, are also standard protocols at AboitizLand sites.

Tads Tadeo, AboitizLand Manager - Project Development and Management Group of AboitizLand, highlighted that the visit was the first opportunity for SMA to see the development as a fully built up community.

“I heard he was there before but during site development so there wasn’t much to see. This time he went through the parks, and he was able to get a view of the Azotea (a roof deck). He also went into the rooms, as if he was a vecino in a turnover ceremony, at least, that’s how I felt,” he shared, adding that the team showed SMA and company around the project's key points of interest, going inside model units and up the azotea or roof deck.

Another topic the teams were able to share with SMA was how the site is managed daily whether remotely or on the ground. They also took the opportunity to discuss operations and the work that goes into daily accomplishments, including how the Seafront Residences project was progressing on all fronts since its launch in 2017.

It was good to be able to highlight our successes and initiatives towards meeting our construction and sales goals despite the challenges brought about by the pandemic. We also were able to tour the site and houses, amenities, and areas for future development. We were happy to be able to share the fruits of our labor with our leaders, and have them enjoy the development that everyone worked so hard to have come together.

– Monica Trajano, AVP Customer Management Team, AboitizLand

The Seafront Residences team made preparations at least a week ahead of SMA's visit, preparing the helipad and testing out the site tour route. The construction management team was in charge of housekeeping, making sure that the route was clean and safe.

After the visit, my team saw that Sabin was pleased with what he saw. It’s great to show off the progress of the site, I was a bit worried at first because I don’t know what feedback Sabin and the others will give. The rest of the team and I felt proud about what we’ve built so far. He seemed happy with the development. ‘Congratulations, Seafront is very nice,’ SMA said.

– Honesto Medina, VP Construction Management Team, AboitizLand