Technical Sergeant Arnold Cale, a Mindanao native who lost his right leg during fierce fighting against the New People’s Army in Basilan in 2002, has something new to look forward to.
The opening of the Panther’s Bakery in Camp Tecson in San Miguel Bulacan on April 4 signaled a new opportunity for the wounded members of the Philippine Army Special Operations Command’s First Scout Ranger Regiment.
Cale heads the soldier-run bakery—a new livelihood opportunity provided by the Aboitiz Group through corporate social responsibility arm the Aboitiz Foundation and food business unit Pilmico, to help wounded soldiers become productive and self-sustaining.
“This is really a big help. For me alone, I now have added skills; if I wanted to put up my own bakery, I could. For the soldiers here, they no longer have to go far to buy bread. Finally, this project is really helping those wounded in the war,” Cale said.
FSRR received modern baking equipment and financial assistance for the construction of a complete on-site bakery from the Aboitiz Group. Twelve FSRR bakers also received comprehensive baking training from Pilmico as well as additional training through the University of the Philippines Institute of Small Scale Industries’ Start Your Own Business course.
“Some of them [FSRR soldiers] were wounded in action, and some of them were physically unable to pursue their operational activities. So we could help them out, we placed them here. We later found out they already had some skills that just needed a bit of training,” said Brig. Gen. William Gonzales, FSRR commander. He said the proceeds from the bakery would go to the Scout Ranger foundation which they revived last year.
“I would like to thank the Aboitiz Group for this project. It has really helped a lot and this is a good project for our wounded soldiers. We cannot fully avoid injuries in war, but at least we have projects like this that can help,” Cale said.
“When we go back to visit this bakery again, we expect to hear moving stories of our soldiers who were successfully transformed into Panther Bakery’s strong, powerful, and pleasing bakers,” said Aboitiz Foundation first vice-president and chief operating officer Maribeth Marasigan.
“Meanwhile, we in the Aboitiz Foundation will continuously explore ways to support our uniformed personnel as a sign of gratitude for all your sacrifices for our nation,” she said.
This is not the first time the Aboitiz Group has extended baking livelihood programs to the country’s soldiers.
The Aboitiz Group recently inaugurated “The Bread Camp Bakery” inside Malacañang Park run by the Presidential Security Group Enlisted Personnel Ladies Club.
The Noble Bakers Bakery in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija became operational early last year and is now being run by the Philippine Army Special Operations Command soldiers who were injured in battle. It has also extended bakery livelihood programs to residents displaced during the Marawi City siege.
The Aboitiz Foundation is the corporate foundation of the Aboitiz Group that was established in 1988 to drive change for a better world.