Noly T. Cayabyab, OMC Vice President for Corporate Social Responsibility said the program aims to collect and properly recycle used car batteries to lessen if not eradicate its hazards to the environment.
Under this program, companies, organizations, or individual can donate their used car batteries through PBSP and in turn get back the value of their donations through tax credits. Tax credits can be used when they file for their annual Income Tax Return (ITR) with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
All the donated batteries will be forwarded by PBSP to OMC where it will be properly recycled. OMC will pay PBSP the collected used batteries at its premium value. The amount raised will be used to finance PBSP’s program to help children in the country especially in the areas of Autonomous Region in Mindanao (ARMM), attend school.
“In this program, the donor will still get back the value of their donated batteries through tax credits and at the same time contribute to the environmental protection as well as help children to attend schools,” Cayabyab told the audience during the launching program at La Viña Hotel.
“We have already accumulated some P300,000 from donors who are willing to donate the money for our educational development program,” Quennie Rojo, PBSP senior program officer told MindaNews.
“You only have to donate six batteries for you to send one children to school and only five batteries to send one children to a remedial reading camps,” Rojo added.
She said the program can pay for the tuition and school supplies of an elementary student.
Cayabab said this program was launched by OMC as early as the 1990s but became institutionalized only by late 2006.
Besides OMC and PBSP, the program is also in partnership with Philippine Recyclers, Inc. (PRI), Department of Health and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
To date, she said, OMC has collected some 200 metric tons of used batteries and recycled thousands of liters of sulfuric acid.
“This is our flagship project, because used batteries, if not properly recycled or disposed, could be very much dangerous considering its lead and sulfuric acid composition that are very hazardous not only to our environment but also our health in general,” she said. (Nung Aljani/MindaNews)