Sun Life Foundation Teams Up with Forest Foundation to Increase Capacity of Calamianes Watersheds

Sun Life Financial-Philippines Foundation, Inc. (Sun Life Foundation), Sun Life Philippines’ philanthropic arm, opens the year with an intensified commitment to make lives brighter for more Filipinos as it awards a financial grant to the Philippine Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation, Inc. (Forest Foundation), its collaborating partner in implementing the “Increasing Capacity of Calamianes Watersheds Towards Resilience” project.

The project aims to enhance forest management in the Calamianes Group of Islands through sustainable conservation and protection initiatives. This covers the Sinibayan Watershed in Brgy. New Busuanga, Busuanga; Mabentangen Watershed in Brgy. 6, Coron, Palawan; and Dita Watershed in Brgy. Malaking Patag, Culion, Palawan. Benefitting from this project are 4,362 households or a population of 18,904 individuals who reside in these neighboring barangays.

“No matter where you are, access to clean and potable water is a fundamental right for everyone,” says Kristine Dianne Millete, Executive Director of the Sun Life Foundation. “Through this project, we earnestly hope to improve and make the lives of the residents much easier by having clean, readily available, and sustainable drinking water now and for the future.”

The signing event held last January 17, 2024 was graced by Sun Life’s top brass, namely: Benedict Sison, Sun Life Philippines CEO and Country Head and Sun Life Foundation Chairman of the Board; Alex Narciso, Sun Life Foundation President and Trustee; Joy Castillo, Sun Life Grepa Chief Operating Officer and Sun Life Foundation Treasurer; Atty. Ed Tordesillas, Sun Life General Counsel; and Kristine Millete, Sun Life Foundation Executive Director. Representing the Forest Foundation are Jose Andres “Onggie” Canivel, Forest Foundation Executive Director and Maria Aurora Francisco-Tolentino, Forest Foundation Secretary, Treasurer, and Board of Trustee.

The event was likewise attended by representatives from the Embassy of Canada in Manila, John Lok, Counsellor and Head of Cooperation, and Jona Cabaguio, Senior Development Officer for the Philippines and Asia-Pacific Regional Development Program, as part of the Canadian Embassy’s collaboration and support to the five-year project of Forest Foundation.

The Sun Life Foundation has always been at the forefront of uplifting the lives of marginalized Filipinos through its holistic and sustainable community development initiatives encompassing health and wellness, education, and environmental sustainability.