Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), the leading mobility infrastructure and solutions provider in the Philippines, joined UNICEF Philippines in celebrating World Children’s Day 2023 on Nov. 20.
The company lit up in blue several prominent structures such as NLEX Corp.’s headquarters in Balintawak, Caloocan; motorists rest stop NLEX Drive and Dine in Valenzuela; MPT South’s LEED gold certified green headquarters South Hub in Imus, Cavite; and the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway in Cebu to symbolize hope and a promise of safer roads and sustainable business practices that benefit children.
“MPTC and our group of companies have road safety at the core of our construction, maintenance, and operations. We are on a mission to contribute to the country’s economic and social growth to provide a better life to our customers, communities, employees, and of course, their children. This partnership with UNICEF allows us to further live up to our life-long commitment to road safety,” said MPTC president and chief executive Rogelio Singson.
A study by UNICEF shows that, on average, more than 600 children and adolescents become casualties of unsafe roads every day — that’s one casualty every two minutes. This fuels the organization to strengthen its ties with different sectors to make efforts that will benefit the next generation.
“Every child has the right to a safe and healthy environment where they can play, walk, and move, without harm. We hope to further our joint effort and collective action to ensure that more children have access to their basic rights, including having a role and voice for a more sustainable world,” said UNICEF fundraising chief Cristina Bertolino.
MPTC and its business units integrate child safety into road safety campaigns, as well as “green highways.” Solar-powered toll plazas and rainwater catchment systems also promote energy efficiency and set the gold standard for sustainable expressway operations.
MPTC signed a multi-year agreement with UNICEF to share resources and committed to building sustainable models for safe school zones and child road traffic injury to support 100 schools in high-risk areas that will benefit over 20,000 children.
The partnership received the Healthy Pilipinas Gold Award from the Department of Health.