When was the last time you went home early to spend quality time with the family?
For those employed in Metro Manila, being able to come home early after a day’s work has become a luxury. What with rush hour, unpredictable traffic and an unreliable transport system – commuters are robbed of energy and time that should have been spent with loved ones.
And come holiday season, the horrendous road situation gets even worse.
Being a staunch advocate of making people go come home early to partake of a meal with the family, leading canned pineapple and processed food manufacturer Del Monte Philippines recently launched an initiative dubbed #ComeHomeBGC. Through the campaign, Del Monte provided three buses to bring Taguig business district commuters home early for free.
The #ComeHomeBGC free bus ride is a part of Del Monte’s Come Home to Family "Wednesdates" initiative, a company policy wherein all operations at its BGC office stops, and employees are encouraged to leave work early every Wednesday so they can have ample time to go home and be with their families.
With busy schedules taking away precious family time, this company-wide policy embodies and promotes the traditional Filipino practice of spending dinner at home with loved ones.
“The advocacy may have started as a Del Monte Tomato Sauce campaign (in 2012), but we at Del Monte Philippines are very deliberate about walking our talk,” said Del Monte’s Marketing team head Eileen Manuel Asuncion.
“Soon after, we implemented the 6:00 p.m. lights out (policy) at the Del Monte Manila offices. By 6:00 p.m. every Wednesday, everyone has to be out of the office so they can get home in time to be with their families,” she shared.
Home at last
The three buses provided by Del Monte Philippines were quickly filled with commuters, from young professionals to mothers, all eager to get home and have dinner with their families.
One of the commuters who was able to ride on a Del Monte #ComeHomeBGC bus was Beth Bugayong, a 58-year-old mother who regularly conducts sales calls in the area. With three children who are all young professionals, Beth is only able to eat dinner with her family during the weekends.
“I always cook for them so that when they get home, they have something to eat after a hard day at work,” she said. “They really love menudo so I always cook it for them. I think Del Monte’s initiative is a great idea because it’s very important for families to sit down and eat together since that’s when they talk and bond.”
College student John Alfonso Manalang related that he rarely ate with his family because of his schedule in school, and when he did, it was always only with his mom who was also tired by nighttime. But that day was different.
“Today, I’ll be able to come home early and spend a bit more time with my mom. It’s really good to know that when I get home, I won’t be too tired to spend time with her,” he thought at the time.
For Grash Acogido, a 23-year-old graphic artist for an e-commerce website, the free ride was a huge help for her to escape the rush hour traffic. “It would make a huge difference if the company I work for also does it because I’d be able to do other things. The extra time would help. I would love to spend more time with my family. I really miss bonding with them.”