The Relentless Rizaly From SM Foundation scholar to SM Prime accounting manager

Twenty years ago, high school student Rizaly Lim and her four siblings would watch in awe every time they pass by the construction of the first SM City in her hometown Sta. Rosa, Laguna. All five children, packed in the tricycle their father rides for a living, were all excitedly looking forward to happy family weekends they would be spending at the huge mall.

Today, after graduating Summa Cum Laude through a scholarship from SM Foundation, Rizaly is now a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) working as Accounting Manager for the head office of SM Prime Holdings, a leading property developer in the Philippines and Southeast Asia.

From SM Foundation scholar to SM Prime accounting manager

“My father was the only one who worked for our family, and because we were a large family, his daily earnings as a tricycle driver were never enough. Sa umpisa, hindi po ako naniwala kasi bago pa lang sa amin noon ang SM City Sta. Rosa. Gusto ko rin po makapag-aral at makapagtapos noon. Maka-work at makatulong sa family. With full scholarship grants and monthly allowances, as well as the opportunity to work at SM Store during our summer and Christmas vacations, the SMFI scholarship has enabled me to help my family financially. Our late father instilled in us the love of reading and the value of studying. During summer, he would assign us English words and their meanings to memorize and asked us to recite these to him. It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul. Nothing is simple. I haven't accomplished much yet, but I value what I have already accomplished and received so fa. These are just a few of the accomplishments for which I will be eternally grateful. I'm also proud of my daily achievements at work, such as fulfilling particular duties assigned to me. They make me happy and proud of myself, and they inspire me to do better. Ang mga dating pinapangarap ko lang, nagagawa ko na ngayon. Nothing is easy. Hindi ko naman to straight line lang na na-achieve. Life is full of challenges. Just stay strong, keep the faith and always give your best effort.” ~Rizaly Lim, Certified Public Accountant (CPA) working as Accounting Manager for the head office of SM Prime Holdings, a leading property developer in the Philippines and Southeast Asia

At a young age, Rizaly was headstrong about getting her family out of poverty. She proceeded of course, driven by the one goal of finishing college and helping her family.

Rizaly finished high school at the Balibago National High School as class valedictorian in 2005 and was already sending applications for other college scholarships when her teacher asked the top 10 students to go to SM City Sta. Rosa for an interview with SM Foundation.

A few exams and interviews later, SM Foundation, Inc. (SMFI) went to visit her and her family at home to inform them that she will be receiving a full scholarship with monthly allowance until she finishes her course.

In 2010, Rizaly graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accountancy. She went on to pass the Philippine CPA Board Exams on first try in October 2010. The assistance of SMFI went beyond tuition and allowances. 

“I am the master of my fate”

While other parents were buying their college kids the latest Nokia phone back in the summers of 2000’s, Rizaly’s father gave her and her siblings weekly assignments to accomplish during the summer vacation. 

Then there's the memorization of motivational poems and speeches, one of which stuck with her for life.

Career at SM

SM Foundation was established in 1983 by Henry Sy, Sr. and Felicidad T. Sy as the heart of the SM group. It has established programs that are focused on nurturing and caring for underserved communities where SM is present. It supports and empowers host communities through education, healthcare, shelter, disaster response, sustainable agriculture, and care for persons with special needs.

To date, SM Foundation has assisted more than 8,000 college and technical/vocational students, and has donated over 100 school buildings with a total of 334 classrooms built across the country.

Nurturing the graduates extends beyond the classroom as SM Foundation also provides job opportunities across the different companies of the SM group. The foundation organizes a Career Fair specifically designed for its scholars.

From the Career Fair organized by SM Foundation, Rizaly was able to get job offers from three companies – among which was SM Prime Holdings, one of the largest integrated property developers in Southeast Asia that offers innovative and sustainable lifestyle cities with the development of malls, residences, offices, hotels and convention centers. It is also the largest, in terms of asset, in the Philippines.

I still want to level up

Her biggest dreams, she said, remain centered on her family: to provide better for her family by sharing with them what she has now. 

Subway Celebrates 26th Anniversary with E-learning Program

“The past two years has shown us how important internet connectivity is for our children. Those with better internet connectivity do much better in school because of better access to online educational resources. Our partnership with Critical Links and e-Dris will be able to benefit more children so that they will have a better opportunity to achieve excellence in education. This will be our way of supporting the Department of Education in the attainment of their goal of bridging the digital divide. This School-in-the-Box initiative is going to be a game changer in the provinces because even if there is limited or sporadic bandwidth, lack of connectivity, rigid security and usage restrictions, schools can use the C3 Micro-Cloud to bring 21st century learning and discovery to their students. Together with our partners, we will be opening a world of learning and opportunity to students in schools anywhere.” ~Mr. Joshua Wahiman, Marketing Manager of Subway

From left to right — Mr. Joshua Wahiman (Subway's Marketing Manager), Ms Jean Gagarino (Subway's Territory Manager), Atty. Rainier Butalid (CEO of e-DRIS Inc.), Syed Darwish Bederi III (Asia Pacific Regional Head of Critical Links  based in Princeton, NJ US.)

Internet connectivity has been an issue that has plagued the educational system over the past two years. A pressing problem in the far-flung areas in the country and even in some parts of Metro Manila is the issue of intermittent or no internet connectivity at all. 

Every student deserves the opportunity to access learning resources despite accessibility issues. It is equally important that the country’s education system is also improved so that students will be prepared to face the highly competitive workforce.

One company that is passionate about education is Subway. Subway is the world’s largest submarine sandwich chain with more than 34,000 locations around the world. Subway understands that it takes more than just good food to nourish people and build vibrant communities. It starts with taking care of people, the heart and soul of the Subway experience.

One way of taking care of people is to provide opportunities for the future generation to get the best education that is available. To celebrate its 26th anniversary, Subway will be partnering with Critical Links and e-Dris, to launch the School-in-the-Box initiative.

Partners

Critical Links is a pioneer in delivering innovative e-Learning infrastructure for the next generation of schools, especially in challenging environments. E-Dris, on the other hand, is a company that offiers online and offline education through Micro-Cloud Architecture, Hybrid Learning or through Instant Access or Content.

Under the School-in-a-Box initiative, schools that do not have access to the internet will be given an opportunity to optimize technology and allow students to benefit from a 21st century education. The program will be piloted in a school in Metro Manila that has infrastructure limitations such as power outages and fluctuations and is often cut off from the Internet and cloud based resources due to the lack of regular or robust connectivity.

Cloud based environment

The program will utilize the C3 Micro-Cloud, a self-contained, cloud-enabled environment that allows the provisioning of content, resources, and management to local students and teachers even if they do not have access to the Internet. The server can support up to 50 devices at a time and is ideal for a library, laboratory or a facility room.

“Content in the form of texts and other resources can be centrally curated in the C3 Cloud Control portal by those responsible for curriculum and distributed to any authorized C3 Micro-Cloud regardless of where it is, whenever a network link becomes available.” ~Atty. Rainier Butalid (CEO of e-DRIS Inc.) and  Syed Darwish Bederi III, of Critical Links

With the C3 Micro-Cloud any school can use podcasts, e-books, quizzes, and learning games, allowing students to seek and gather information on their own under the guidance of their teachers instead of passively receiving only the hardcopy of information available in books.

Overdoughs is not your ordinary Bakeshop

Do you want to do good and at the same time enjoy good food?

You should visit Overdoughs which offers their very own versions of donuts or doughnuts, mouthwatering chunky cookies or Chonky Cookies, brownies or brookies, pizza and fries.

“I wanted to start a food business and I was looking at trends around and then I realized there were different kinds of donuts that were not being served here. So that is what I wanted to introduce to the market. However, there have been a lot of recreations of Overdoughs because we started with donuts, donut holes and then we transitioned to fried cookie dough and then we transitioned to baked cookies. That’s where we are now. I remember an experience before when I was a teenager visiting a clothing shop. The employees at the shop were all at the cashier talking to each other. And then there was a guy who approached me but he was not talking. He was trying his best to really assist me and it was then that I noticed that there was a name tag and the word deaf was placed there. I saw that the customers were interacting with them. And we made sure that we put a system in place where the customers and the deaf partners will have an easy time. Then we have LED writing board where people can communicate easily. Currently we have around 30 deaf partners. We had more pre-pandemic but we had to retrench because we had to close some of our branches. So far we have 12 branches. We really want to offer the full experience and hopefully, we can also start providing sign language classes so that our customers can eat, can learn and can interact.” ~Francis Carl Reyes, CEO and Founder of Caravan Food Group Inc., the company behind Overdoughs and Elait!

If you are into ice cream, Overdoughs also offers Elait ice cream where customers can witness ice cream being rolled with their favorite flavors right in front of them. 

Deaf partners

That’s the good food part. The doing good part is that customers who buy Overdough’s many products are providing employment and opportunities for most of their employees who are deaf. 

That was Reyes’ first experience with a deaf person who he felt was the “epitome of good customer service. No matter who you are, he is going to assist you. No judgement.” That experience made him decide that he would employ deaf partners for his store.

He tried out the partner program initially with Elait. When he saw that it was doing well, he implemented it at Overdoughs. Initially, Reyes started with two able and two deaf partners and he would be observing how they were doing their jobs.

Sign language

He also posted basic sign language in all the branches so that customers can learn how to communicate with them.

In the future, Reyes hopes to convert more of their Overdoughs outlets in to cafes so that customers get to savor their other products like pizzas, fried chicken, fries and empanadas.

Overdoughs currently has one such outlet in Greenhills where customers can not only enjoy good food but do good as well.

For more information about Overdoughs, you can visit www.overdoughs.ph and @overdoughsph on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. 

Hamilo Coast: Nurturing nature for 15 years and beyond

The current rate at which individuals observe sustainability practices is far from halting climate change. Whether it is reducing the use of disposable items or saving more energy, environmentally conscious activities will only yield significant results if everyone is “cast in the same mold,” so to speak. That said, high-impact global sustainable development lies within the responsibility of the government and large organizations—conglomerates among them.

Understanding such a role, SM Prime Holdings, Inc., one of the largest integrated property developers in Southeast Asia, has incorporated its sustainable practices in its developments early on.  Through SM Prime’s Costa Del Hamilo Inc., a leader in the leisure resort industry and the movers behind Hamilo Coast – this premium seaside complex in Nasugbu, Batangas, fosters a tangible connection with nature. Marking its quindecennial year, Hamilo Coast looks back at its milestones and achievements with its core emphasis on sustainable development. 

“Sustainability has been at the forefront of our vision in providing a resort lifestyle. We strive to practice both environmental and social sustainability in our operations through our partners and commnunities.” ~Franklin M. Bolalin, Assistant Vice President for Hamilo Estate Management

Disaster risk reduction

Every year, the country deals with an average of 19 typhoons, with some often resulting  in damages to properties and loss of life.  Coastal defenses such as seawalls and breakwater structures are often implemented to resist storm surges. In the case of Hamilo Coast, mangrove trees are the key.

Hamilo Coast’s 100,000 square-meter or equivalent to 10 hectares mangrove belt is one of the largest mangrove areas in the municipality. The sustainable beach resort town has since planted 50,000 mangrove propagules, protected hand-in-hand with the conservation organization World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines.

Biodiversity conservation

Apart from disaster mitigation, mangrove trees also benefit the climate by absorbing greenhouse gases (GHGs) and carbon dioxide. This capacity nurtures the ecosystem and biodiversity in the area, providing habitat for a wide array of species.  

Hamilo is home to rich marine life and abundant flora and fauna.  Its conservation programs and various sustainability initiatives have nurtured and conserved its precious biodiversity.  There are about 96 various bird species found at the estate. Among these bird species are the rough-crested Malkoha and the Philippine eagle-owl.

From growing local plants to conducting regular coastal clean-up drives, coastal resource conservation initiatives are active in Hamilo Coast. With the help of WWF, they can increase their fisheries’ biological capacity and monitor their Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)—the Pico de Loro, Etayo and Santelmo coves which are among the three MPAs for Costa Del Hamilo’s Sustainable Development Project.  Hamilo has been working with WWF since 2007 monitoring the health and viability of Hamilo Coast area. 

In recognition of its conservation efforts, Hamilo Coast was cited by the World Wide Fund for Nature as its longest Sustainability Partner in 2020.

“Over the years, our partnership with SM significantly contributed to the impact we are making in our work in Hamilo Coast. From liquid waste and coral monitoring, to our present work on integrated waste management and food sheds, we hope that this continuing partnership would help us realize our vision of making Hamilo a holistic model of sustainability.” ~Katherine Custodio, WWF-Philippines’ Executive Director

Green buildings development

The path towards a sustainable future is paved with many interventions, including zero waste, dematerialization, zero emissions and resource efficiency practices. For its part, Hamilo Coast makes its intention to be a premiere sustainability community possible by making sure its buildings are designed with the environment in mind.

Some of the estate’s facilities are powered by alternative sources of energy. For example, its lamp posts use solar power more than traditional ones to function. Natural lighting and ventilation are also noticeable in some of its residential areas, which benefits the environment as well as its tenants. Additionally, Hamilo Coast implements a solid waste management plan that consists of recovery of materials and vermicomposting, among others.

Sustainable living

At Hamilo Coast’s core is how a distinct beachfront home can harmonize with its surrounding environment. As people crave for a more relaxed environment, closer to nature and the outdoors amid a work-from-home setup pushed by the ongoing pandemic, Hamilo homes give access to invigorating landscapes, coves to explore and the calming sea. 

Fifteen years later, Hamilo Coast has surpassed its reputation as a weekend respite. It is now one of the best settlement options for people looking to live the coastal life in a sustainable community. 

Keeping Up with the Lopezes Here’s how the Lopez family lives a healthier, better life with Santé

“With the mobility limitations brought by the pandemic, it was challenging for everyone to stay active. However, we delivered packed foods to frontliners at the hospitals and checkpoints using our bikes. As we helped and gave back to the community, it became an exercise routine for the family. We trust the brand. I have been drinking Santé Barley for a long time. It has helped me address my health issues. It is also my secret to keeping an energized and fit body.” ~Papa Louie

They say that a family is like the branches of a tree that grow in different directions. However, for the Lopez family, their root remains united through a household hobby–bicycling.  

In an interview with the Lopezes, Louie, Alou, Gel, Aira, and Kang shared what they feel about being the newest addition to the family of Santé, a premier natural and organic health and wellness product and services provider, and their secrets to achieving not just a fit body but a healthier lifestyle, especially amid the global health crisis. 

Speaking of #FamilyGoals and #FitnessGoals, the Lopez family has the best of both worlds. Heading the tribe of these health enthusiasts is their father, who is well-loved and known by many as “Papa Louie.” His daughters sharing his same energy include Aira Lopez, a duathlete, a YouTube vlogger with half a million subscribers, and the host of a CNN show called Cycling Unlimited, with her equally beautiful and fit siblings Alou Lopez, Angela Lopez, and Alyssa Lopez. 

During the height of the pandemic, the family’s home was not an exception to the virus. Alou, who was working as a flight attendant in a local airline, was very much exposed to different people. Thus, she was infected first. Thankfully, due to their active regimen, the family only had mild symptoms and recovered faster. 

Ever since, the family has been health enthusiasts, doing different kinds of sports and physical activities. But more than the benefit to them, they equally see it as their mission to tap more.

“Biking is not just a sport for us. It is our advocacy. Because it is a male-dominated sport, we want to encourage more women to participate in it.” ~Alou Lopez

As the Lopezes hope to reach more Filipinos, especially women and inspire them to do the sport they love and enjoy, the family was ecstatic to join Santé as they share the same values and goals with the brand--helping people live better lives. 

Santé Barley™, the company’s flagship product, is made of barley grass gathered at a young age and turned into powder and capsule forms. It is composed of pure organic barley grass rich in vitamins and minerals that help detoxify the body, lower bad cholesterol, aid digestive health, deliver a good number of antioxidants, assist wound healing, bone formation, and many more.  

A glass or capsule of Santé Barley™ fortifies the body with Vitamin C, zinc, calcium, amino acids, magnesium, iron, B-vitamins, and carotenoids, essential to giving the immune system an extra boost. The healthy goodness of Santé Barley™ is certified organic by New Zealand’s renowned organic produce and products organization, BioGro. 

Lastly, the Lopezes reminded everyone to be happy and mentally prepared before pursuing any sports, such as cycling.

“Most importantly, do not forget to drink your everyday supplements, such as Santé Barley.” ~Aira Lopez, a Duathlete, a YouTube Vlogger

Santé Barley™ and other Santé products are organic health and wellness products offered by Santé, known for developing a comprehensive selection of everyday barley-based products. They are designed to improve people’s quality of life to live more and do more.  

Santé is one of the leading global growers of certified barley grass grown and harvested from New Zealand. With its mission to help people live better lives, the company promotes, produces, and distributes premier natural health and wellness products and services. Today, Santé has expanded its offerings, including a fitness and rehabilitation center with Santé Fitness Lab, staying true to its thrust of promoting a healthy lifestyle. 

To learn more about Santé, visit its website at mysante.com.  

About Santé 

Santé is one of the leading global manufacturers of certified barley grass grown and harvested from New Zealand. With its mission to help people live better lives, the company promotes, produces, and distributes premier natural health and wellness products and services. With Santé Barley as its flagship brand, the company has dominated the local market with its barley grass certified organic by BioGro, New Zealand’s largest and best-known certifier for organic produce and products. With the proven health benefits of Santé Barley, Santé has developed a comprehensive selection of everyday barley-based products. Today, Santé has expanded its offerings, including a fitness and rehabilitation center with Santé Fitness Lab, staying true to its thrust of promoting a healthy lifestyle. Headquartered in the Philippines, Santé has offices worldwide in New Zealand, Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Singapore, UAE, Qatar, Nigeria, and Cyprus. 

Collaboration: A key in creating sustainable agri-enterprises

 

KSK Farmers’ Market Day at SM City Sta. Rosa

Limited market information and market access are two major obstacles to increased smallholder farmers’ income. According to studies, farmers in grassroot communities often lack access to profitable, value-added markets. In the absence of critical supporting functions, such as infrastructure and service provision – farmers struggle to transform their traditional subsistence farms into a feasible commercially oriented production. Buyers, on the other hand, such as wholesalers, find it difficult to get the quantity and quality of produce that they need for processing on a timely basis. 

KSK Pop-up booths in Davao

Because of this challenge, SM Foundation collaborated with various government agencies, and engaged various SM business units such as the SM Development Corp. (SMDC), SM Supermalls and SM Markets to ensure that local farmers under the Kabalikat Sa Kabuhayan (KSK) program have venues where they can sell their produce amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

From training KSK participants in practicing sustainable farming technologies via technology transfer and product development, SMFI, together with various SM business units used the power of collaboration to create farm-market linkage - which intends to create a powerful driver of rural poverty reduction.

Team social good

SMDC Weekend Market

The Good Guys Market is a weekend market set up in SMDC properties to connect small-scale farmers directly with consumers—condo residents. This initiative links around 26,000 small-scale farmers directly with consumers.

Together with SM Supermalls, SMFI launched the Green Lane initiative. Led by the wives of the KSK farmers, the social enterprise offers a wide variety of quality yet affordable indoor and landscape plants which cater to every enthusiast’s preference. In addition, the team also launched the KSK Farmers’ Market Day to provide farmers with market exposure in select SM Malls nationwide.

Green lane: an agri-enterprise led by the wives of KSK farmers

Meanwhile, SMFI also partnered with SM Markets in creating market for onion farmers. Through the partnership, SMFI was able to establish specialized onion pop-up booths creating a stable market for small scale onion farmers.

Millions of smallholder farmers are seeking ways to improve the productivity of their farms and to improve their market performance. Modern farming technologies, paired with market linkage, such as the SM KSK, plays a vital role in improving the livelihood of small-scale farmers and their families.

Locally farmed onions by KSK farmers in SM Markets

Locally farmed onions by KSK farmers in SM Markets

SM Foundation’s Kabalikat Sa Kabuhayan (KSK) is SMFI’s Social Good program on sustainable agriculture that intends to uplift the lives of Filipinos in grassroot communities through sustainable agriculture via technology transfer, product development and farm-market linkage. To date, the program has trained more than 28,500 farmers from more than 900 cities/municipalities nationwide.

Working together to serve more communities for a sustainable future

“I constantly encourage the private sector to work closely with the government. This way, we can be more cohesive in our efforts to make more meaningful progress towards a better and sustainable future. As a private enterprise, SM Prime will continue to do its share in addressing climate change for the benefit of communities. Climate change is looming over our Mother Earth. If we can contribute no matter how little and if I can get everybody to be aware of it, I think we will make an impact. It’s never too late.” ~Hans T. Sy, SM Prime Holdings Chairman of the Executive Committee

Solar rooftop at SM City North EDSA

Climate change is one of the most pressing and defining global issues today. It has become imperative for both the public and private sectors to continue to band together to primarily, safeguard the welfare of the people and to step up to strengthen the resilience of the nation.

The Philippines currently ranks third globally when it comes to climate change vulnerability. In relation to its geographical location, it is more exposed to altering intensities of climate change manifested through erratic weather systems and natural calamities.

The private sector is called upon now more than ever to align with the principles of sustainable development and to take on the same firm stance on environmentally sound practices in its operations. 

Mr. Hans T. Sy

Water Conservation 

Sustainability at SM Prime is at the core of its corporate identity. SM Prime has spearheaded sustainable practices as well as set records in pioneering programs to consciously protect the environment and strongly focus on resilience in its developments.

For one, the property conglomerate embarked on a campaign to substantially reduce its water consumption. It pioneered the installation of sewage treatment plants even before the measure was required by way of the Clean Water Act in 2004.

Today, its sewage treatment plants recycle 8.7 million cubic meters of water, lessening its dependence on fresh water sources for air conditioning operations, gardening, water closet flushing and other non-potable uses. SM Prime’s water catchment basins across 20 SM malls can also catch and store almost 79 million liters of water in total every time it rains, or as much as 32 Olympic-sized swimming pools. 

By controlling the flow of flood water, surrounding communities have been provided more protection against the devastating effects of floods, alleviating what communities would normally fear when the rains come.

Renewable Energy 

SM Prime continues to explore ways to promote environmental consciousness in its operations and developments to minimize environmental impact.

 

In 2014, SM Prime achieved an important milestone in the country with SM City North EDSA becoming then the world’s largest solar-powered mall. Today, SM Prime is adding eleven more malls with solar roof decks.

Showing its firm resolve to advance its sustainability agenda, the company is committed to increase the use of renewable energy by 50% in 2022 across its various business segments, ahead of the national goals to be 35% renewable by 2030.

Through these efforts, SM Prime is committed to provide affordable and clean energy to its tenant-partners, minimizing the carbon footprint emission in its operations.

Collaboration toward resilience

As a key figure in the private sector, Mr. Sy and his dedication to environmental protection continues to serve as a testament to how Philippine businesses can usher positive change toward disaster resilience and risk reduction management in the country.  

In 2012, Mr. Sy joined the United Nations Private Sector Advisory Group (PSAG) for Disaster Reduction. In 2015, he was also inducted as the first and only Filipino member UNDRR ARISE (Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies) International Board. He currently serves as co-chair in the ARISE-Philippines network and National Resilience Council (NRC) of the Philippines, representing the private sector. He continues to help develop multi-sectoral partnerships in the country to strengthen the ability of corporations, including MSMEs, to prepare and respond to disasters brought about by natural hazards such as earthquake.