CEBU CITY (Nov. 9, 2024) -- The lone state technical higher educational institution in Cebu has recognized Taiheiyo Cement Philippines, Inc. (TCPI) for being a “strong partner” to achieve “excellence in higher education and transformative innovation.”
Dr. Joseph C. Pepito, Ph. D., the university president, handed the recognition to Zenith Victoria L. Rubi, TCPI division manager for human resources and administration (HRA), and Vanessa N. Bongcawil, the human resources manager.
The Cebu Technological University (CTU) cited TCPI during its 15th anniversary celebration today at the CebuTech gymnasium of its main campus in Cebu City with theme, “Commitment to Excellence: A Tribute to Stakeholders.”
Both represented Takuya Nose, TCPI senior vice president for human resources and administration and legal and community affairs division, who oversees and approves support given to the community, especially educational institutions.
Solid Earth Development Corp. (SEDC), TCPI’s suppli-
er of earth materials, also received a similar citation with Mitzie Almira I. Carin, its HRA division manager, and community relations coordinator Zeny Tapuyao receiving the award onstage.
Meanwhile, the company donated 15 pieces of trophies to CTU’s San Fernando Campus for its 2024 Intramurals.
TCPI community relations officer Efren Labrado and Brijade May Navasquez, a staff of the community and general affairs section, handed the trophies to Wilfredo Anoos, the campus director, and his assistant Hector Oledan on Nov. 7, 2024.
“Lose Yourself,” Eminem’s most popular song, plays on Spotify, amplified to the headset. Then, a loud vrooom! Revs the 1450cc 2004 Harley Davidson. While cruising on Polaroid sunglasses, you see the wonders of Japan’s countryside!
On another weekend, vroom goes the Nissan Fuga cruising through the hinterlands while Eminem’s “Without Me” plays on the car stereo in high fidelity.
It’s Eng’r. Yuki Ando on weekends enjoying speed trips with friends in their own vehicles off base in his early professional career while working in Fujiwara at the northern portion of the Mie prefecture and for a while at Ofunato in Iwate.
His love to be on wheels started after his brother gave him his 1991 sports-styled subcompact Toyota Cynos that he sadly wrecked after a few weeks, an experience that taught him defensive driving.
Gladly, his father Kuninori provided him his classic 1997 compact Volkswagen Golf that he used until he finished his Electrical and Electronic Engineering course at Kyushu Institute of Technology (KIT) in Fukuoka just near home.
With his first earnings at 20 from selling movie tickets and tutoring kids with Math and Physics, Ando bought himself a mid-size 2004 Toyota Verossa, then the 2000 Toyota Sprinter Trueno compact sports liftback, while he proceeded with his masteral degree in Integrated Systems Engineering, still at KIT.
He earned his first job at the Fujiwara plant in April 2013 as a junior staff of the Electricity section for over four years during which he bought himself the mid-size luxury sedan Nissan Fuga that he drove alternately with his Dyna Low Rider Harley Davidson when he goes on weekend speed trips.
His passion for speed trips ebbed when he moved to the Ofunato plant in September
2017 as senior staff of the same Electricity section when he found it very relaxing to fish along Sakari River towards Ofunato Bay and the open sea facing the Pacific.
After almost four years, the Taiheiyo conglomerate picked Ando to become part of the TCPI Renewal Project Team while still in pandemic by April 2021 yet based at the Tokyo headquarters when he also married his wife Rikako in the same year. His team briefly visited Cebu for an ocular two months after, then returned by October and November 2021 to work on the designs for the plant. He flew to China by December to coordinate with the supplier until January 2022.
quent installation of equipment match the plans, and test if the system works seamlessly as intended.
He oversaw the installation of all hardware and even took part in designing the software for the programmable control system.
During his schooling years, especially in Junior High School, Ando found interest and fondness in Math and Physics, especially in having to deal with problem solving. He finds great exhilaration when he unlocks and solves complex problems that literally makes him silently yell “Yesss!!!” as he squeezes his hands fists up, opposite his elbows, and gestures a strong downward pump.
Ando moved back and forth to Tokyo and China thereafter working on the design and to check the equipment that will be used based on the designs.
Since June 13, 2022, his time and energy went to the renewal project, serving as the project’s electrical and instrumentation department manager, though he missed the birth of his first child, a daughter named Reika, a month after on July 13.
Ando’s role has been to make sure the construction methods, especially with the power substation, and subse-
(2017), Tenet (2020) and the biographical thriller Oppenheimer (2023) that won Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture.
Work for Taiheiyo allowed Ando to visit countries like Turkey and China, more for supplies, then came his Philippine tour of duty. Like most expats, the Filipinos’ natural friendliness and hospitality endeared him.
Calaca project
Despite some language barriers, he appreciates how the Filipino staff try to understand him and make him understand and appreciate work circumstances.
His message to TCPI employees in Cebu, “let us work together to build, even a better (cement) plant.”
However, after the commissioning stage of the new plant in San Fernando, Ando will move by November 2025 to Calaca, Batangas for the construction of the distribution terminal for Luzon.
In his elementary years, Ando loved to play TV games on Nintendo 64, especially simulation and racing games, then shifted to Tennis on grass courts in his high school years with a little bit of Judo on the side.
As he worked while in college at the movie house ticket counter, he got to watch various movies for free. He developed fondness in the scifi fantasy genre, like Inception (2010) of Leonardo DiCaprio and later Matthew McConaughey’s Interstellar (2014).
As Sir Christopher Nolan directed both movies, his following movies became a sure watch for him, like Dunkirk
While in Cebu, he will try to find occasions to fish, probably off Mactan or around the shallow waters of Olango, Pangan-an, Pandanon and Nasingin off northern Bohol.
But when he moves to Luzon for good, we will try fishing at Taal Lake and Laguna de Bay, or off the shores of Calaca in Balayan Bay or in Batangas Bay or along the shorelines of Nasugbu, Batangas.
But with the vast island of Luzon, like Honshu in Japan, he may want to refresh his love for some speed trip to Legazpi City going southeast to see the majestic Mayon Volcano that’s like a younger sibling to Mount Fuji, or up north in Baguio.
Of course, with the tunes of Eminem playing. The experience will just be like applying the theories of Physics, yet with the Taiheiyo psyche of Safety First. ♦
Employees of a cement company and teachers of a public school in San Fernando town took part in a tree growing activity on Nov. 16, 2024. They planted 500 Narra seedlings within the vicinity of South Poblacion National High School - Math and Science School from as early as six in the morning.
At least 22 employees of Taiheiyo Cement Philippines, Inc. (TCPI) volunteered in the activity that the Environment and Safety Department (ESD) organized in line with the company’s Solid Waste Manage-
ment Program,
To promote clean air, five Human Resorces and Administration (HRA) employees led the planting activity that two ESD staff and 15 from production participated in, bared Vanessa N. Bongcawil, head of HR and community and
general affairs.
The HRA team included admin manager Moises Tanola, HR staff Brijade May Navasquez, Cheryl Monterona and Jason Rey Plantar, while division head Dwight Avila and section head Bert Yap represented ESD.
Meanwhile, TCPI’s primary supplier of earth materials, Solid Earth Development Corp. (SEDC), also organized its own tree growing activity a month earlier on Oct. 18 in Lower Kapangian, South Poblacion.
The activity resulted in the planting of 4,750 young trees of Agoho, Tugas, Sangil, Nangka and Cacao species, according to Mitzie Almira I. Carin, SEDC HRA division manager.
At least 27 SEDC employees helped in planting the trees with four personnel of FA Manpower Corp. and two from
Triple 8 Resources Development Corp.
Three employees of the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office of the San Fernando Municipal Government also helped plant the new trees with four South Poblacion barangay tanods.
Threescholars of Taiheiyo Cement Philippines, Inc. (TCPI) have completed their tertiary education, two of them with Latin honors.
Aica D. Antecristo, Jienesa A. Canoy and Yamila D. Satinitigan received on Dec. 21, 2024, their diplomas during their graduation at the Cebu Institute of Technology - University in this city with degrees in Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (CE).
According to Vanessa N. Bongcawil, manager for human resources, Antecristo graduated Magna Cum Laude, while Canoy earned Cum Laude honors.
Antecristo, a resident of Barangay Panadtaran, and Canoy, who is from Barangay Basak, are products of the company’s secondary scholarship program that started when both entered Grade 7 in 2014, she disclosed.
Satinitigan, who is from Barangay Greenhills, got selected for TCPI’s College Scholarship Program, added Bongcawil, also head of the community and general affairs section.
“Our college scholars achieved a significant milestone in their academic journey. Their hard work, perseverance and commitment to excellence paid off,” she noted in her report to
senior vice president Takuya Nose.
Nose, who oversees human resources and administration as well as legal and community affairs, responded: “This is great news! We are really proud of the outstanding results our TCPI College Scholars have achieved.”
Bongcawil said only Antecristo and Canoy among 200+ graduates in CIT-U’s CE program had earned Latin honors, and among only three out of 700+ graduates in the entire College of Engineering and Architecture.
“We are confident that they will continue to make us proud as they pursue their careers in Civil Engineering,” she remarked.
She revealed that Antecristo started her review classes in a review center last Nov. 26, 2024, while Canoy and Satinitigan opted for self-review. The three of them intend to take the CE board exam in September 2025.
No exception
In a journal about her journey, Antecristo wrote:
“Life has a way of shaping us through challenges, and my story is no exception. I grew up knowing what it meant to struggle, to hope, and to fight for a future that seemed out of reach. But amidst the hardships, I found faith, strength, and unwavering support that lit the path ahead. This is where my journey begins.”
“To Taiheiyo Cement, my deepest gratitude. Words cannot
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fully express how thankful I am for the support you have given me throughout this journey. Without you, I would not have been able to study at my dream university. You made it possible for me to turn my dreams into reality.”
Canoy, for her part, wrote:
“I can’t help but feel overwhelmed with gratitude and awe. It has been a path filled with challenges, moments of doubt, and countless lessons, but it has also been a path illuminated by unwavering faith, the love of my family, and the generosity of those who believed in me.”
“I owe so much to Taiheiyo Cement. Since They have been a pillar in my academic journey. Their generosity was life-changing. I can’t thank you enough for the impact you’ve had on my life. I will always be grateful for the opportunity you have given me and for helping me reach this milestone.”
‘Never lose faith’ Satinitigan shared that her chances for college education diminished after high school when her sister, the family’s breadwinner, got diagnosed with a chronic kidney disease that meant expensive treatments and the pandemic came that resulted in loss of income.
Gladly, TCPI came in the way.
But a month before classes began, her sister passed away; and just last year she also lost her mother. The heartbreaks tested her mentally, physically, and emotionally, once wanting to quit having been drained and unmotivated.
“By God’s mercy, the unwavering support of my family and relatives, and the opportunities from TCPI carried me through. I survived. I may not have graduated with honors, but finishing my degree felt like winning a million-peso prize,” she said.
In a message to students, especially TCPI scholars who may be struggling for whatever reason, she advised:
“Never lose faith. Life may test you in unimaginable ways, but every challenge is an opportunity to grow stronger. Believe
in yourself, trust in God’s plan, and work hard to make your dreams a reality.”
“To Taiheiyo Cement: You gave me more than a scholar-
Taiheiyo Cement Philippines, Inc. (TCPI) has always placed public teachers on a high pedestal for their selfless efforts to educate the young and mold them to be relevant in their communities. The company honored and paid them respects when they celebrated the World Teachers’ Day today at the Hidden Valley Mountain Resort Convention Continue
Hall in Pinamungajan town. Some 150 teachers under the San Fernando District 1 of the Department of Education (DepEd) gathered at the place in the hinterlands of Lamac, also as part of the celebration of the National Teachers Month.
Vanessa N. Bongcawil, human resources manager and head of community and general affairs, led the TCPI delegation who paid tribute to the teachers with her associates Brijade May Navasquez and Efren Labrado.
In an inspirational message, she expressed “our unwavering commitment to building better communities in San Fernando,” citing the teachers as partners forged in friendship in the company’s endeavors for the municipality.
“I want to take a moment to honor your incredible dedication, passion, and resilience as educators. Your role in society is challenging, yet you are the architects of our future, shaping both minds and hearts,” Bongcawil said.
ship. You gave me hope and a future. I am forever grateful and promise to use this gift to inspire others and give back,” she concluded. ♦
“Your commitment to nurturing curiosity, sparking imagination, and instilling values in your students is a gift that reaches far beyond the classroom. You are the guiding lights who inspire generations to dream, strive, and believe in themselves,” she added.
Taiheiyo Cement Philippines, Inc. (TCPI) has gone beyond its plant premises and offices with its Plastic Buster Campaign to the community, starting with a neighboring stakeholder school to kick it off on pilot.
In the second phase, it brought the consciousness and practice to student leaders of South Poblacion National High School - Math & Science School (SPNHS-MSS) as a way to further expand its Solid Waste Management Program (SWMP).
Dwight P. Avila, manager of
TCPI environment and safety division (ESD), led the team on Nov. 14, 2024, in educating the students about its SWMP with practices that may be applied in the community down to every household.
With the pilot implementation of what is now a community-based Plastic Buster
Campaign, TCPI eco managers hope the practice to collect plastics and avoid their indiscriminate disposal becomes a community-wide endeavor.
“We have been cleaning up our waterways and shorelines, yet plastics still abound almost everywhere,” quipped Avila. “We need the solve the issue at source, from where these plastic wastes come from -the households, the people.”
For this reason, human resources manager Vanessa N. Bongcawil shared that the
company saw the value of “starting the discipline while young,” thus the thrust to expand the program first to the schools.
“The children can be a good influence at home,” noted Bongcawil, also head of the company’s community and general affairs section.
Wednesday habit
TCPI kicked off the Plastic Buster Campaign among employees and personnel of its suppliers and allied companies
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As they would help “decrease plastic materials from going to the landfill and the environment,” ESD’s memo noted the collected dry plastic wastes are then fed into the plant’s kiln as alternative fuel.
The same will be true with the plastics collected by the SPNHS-MSS students.
Avila’s team crafted the program to uphold and promote TCPI’s pledge to help reduce and contain plastic waste, also part of its commitment in its Environmental Management System (EMS) certified since 2006 as attuned ISO 14001.
“Plastic Busters” is also TCPI’s way to adhere to Republic Act No. 11898, the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act of 2022. It mandates companies to recover or remove an equivalent plastic product footprint they have produced.
Types of plastics
ESD supervisor Vivian S. Matinao advised the students to make sure that the plastics they bring are empty, clean and dry.
She identified the following types of plastics: sachets and pouches of hair care products, condiments, spices, and toothpaste.
She also cited polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles used for consumer drinks, plastic bags, food and drinks doypacks or stand-up pouches, wrappers of candies, chocolates and snack food, as well as cement bags.
TCPI admin manager Moises B. Tañola helped coach the students along with CGA staff Brijade May L. Navasquez, and safety officers Bert C. Yap and Mark Nel Narciso.
Municipal environment and natural resources officer Nelson Soronio represented the San Fernando LGU during the workshop with the SPNHSMSS students. ♦
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Bongcawil asked the teachers to continue their fruitful relationship with TCPI in efforts to develop students and the community, in part through the company’s High School and College Scholarship grants that started in 2005.
“For 19 years, TCPI has been illuminating the path of education for the youth of San Fernando in Cebu, guiding them toward a brighter future,” she pointed out.
Nurturing excellence
Alongside Solid Earth Development Corp. (SEDC), she said “we have sown the seeds of opportunity through a scholarship program designed to uplift deserving students, nurturing excellence, perseverance, and community growth.”
San Fernando Mytha Ann Basubas Canoy also spoke and honored the teachers, along with Edsel A. Laguda, president of the town’s PTA Municipal Federation.
Dr. Joel B. Umbay, Ph.D., DepEd San Fernando District 1 supervisor, welcomed the teachers and the guests, and recognized the resource persons during the seminar on enhancing classroom excellence through innovative teaching strategies.
Umbay himself imparted on Collaborative Learning Techniques with Ms. Ma. Chona G. Aliviado, principal of San Fernando Central School, who tackled Differential Instruction.
The other topics and resource persons included: • Alternative Learning Strategies – Ms. Rosemariwen G. Renes, principal of Pitalo
National High School (NHS);
• Classroom Management – Dr. Florinda M. Soronio, principal of Pitalo Elementary School (ES);
• Flipped Classroom Model – Ms. Kathleen Marie P. Gencono, principal of San Fernando NHS; and
• Effective Questioning Techniques – Dr. Olga C. Fernandez, principal of South Población NHS – Math & Science School.
The gathering saw teachers Alex Basalo and Rosemay Rodrigueza win as DepEd San Fernando I King & Queen.
Mikee Yorong, Johndel Saragena and Yvonne Claytte Largo also emerged as champions in Teachers Got Talent for their remix of popular Filipino hits Banal na Aso and Nosi Balasi with Rolling in the Deep.♦
Employees switched from Taiheiyo blue to Christmas red to play Santa Claus again to over 3,000 children of this rural municipality on Christmas Day, the birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ.
King of kings He may be meant by the Almighty God, yet humbly He laid on a manger in a barn, a scene typical in the state of living of probably most of the town’s children the employees met by the roadside.
It has been a tradition of Taiheiyo Cement Philippines, Inc. (TCPI) to distribute Christmas goodies for the children, simultaneously but separately with its materials supplier, Solid Earth Development Corp. (SEDC), by dawn’s early light.
Vanessa N. Bongcawil led her human resources and community and general affairs
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team, bringing some 1,600 gift packs in barangays South Poblacion, Tonggo, Panadtaran, North Poblacion and Ilaya.
MCRI contractual employee
Victor Omambac, who is assigned in the HR and administration division as admin support, wore the Santa Claus costume and got overwhelmed encountering the children so delighted to see him.
Among the early high school and college scholars, Vincent Nie Villarin, who came home from Japan to spend Christmas here, helped in handing out the goodies, as it flashed back to his own experience receiving the same when he was still a kid.
Villarin now works at the purchasing section of the Business Development Group in the Marketing and Trading Department of the International Business Division of TCPI’s mother company, Taiheiyo Cement Corporation.
Meanwhile, HRA division manager Mitzie Almira I. Carin led the SEDC team that also brought some 1,700 packs of Christmas goodies, 11 dozen slippers, and 25 packs with face towels for the children.
Community relations officer Gines T. Boltron and his deputy Lou Divina A. Cauba organized the distribution in barangays of Basak, Bugho, Cabatbatan, Magsico, Tabionan, Tañañas, Tinubdan and Tubod.
TCPI admin manager Moises Tanola also helped in the distribution with his staff Jason Plantar, Cheryl Monterona and Patrick Von Ronnel Segovia, HR timekeeper Charmaine Basnillo, packhouse section head Gil Rosalejos, and MCRI drivers Emerson Badayos and Joseph Padillo. ♦
Taiheiyo
Cement Philippines, Inc. (TCPI) supported and gave more flesh to the observance of the 4th Quarter Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drill on Nov. 14, 2024.
Sought for by the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, the company sent a team to South Poblacion Elementary School (SPES) to coach the students what to do should a strong earthquake happen.
TCPI admin manager Moises B. Tañola spoke to the students at the school’s open grounds and gave them important points to remember on what to do should an earthquake occur.
HR manager Vanessa N. Bongcawil chipped in some pointers with safety supervisor Vivian S. Matin-ao and Brijade May L. Navasquez, her assistant for community and general affairs.
San Fernando Senior Fire Officer 1 Gerardo Deiparine also guided the students with what to do, especially if the earthquake sparks a fire.
Organizing teachers Materials supplier Solid Earth Development Corp. (SEDC) led by Mitzie Almira I. Carin, its human resources and administration division manager, also supported the activity with safety officers Sherford Salloman and Lester Ambrad.
SPES teachers organized the drill, among them: Glieza A. Asoy, Manilyn S. Balingit, Jeramy L. Briones, Janet G. Canonigo, Brian O. Cañas, Joanne P. Cañas, Lucia G. Enclonar, and Annabelle L. Generalao.
The others include Roque B. Generana Richie A. Genilo, Sherale A. Mainit, Loraine May B. Malazarte, Chiela Mae S. Manloloyo, Aniceta L. Manugas, Catherine O. Medrano, and Ma. Blanche G. Omamalin.
Also involved are Dwezel Joy G. Reville Angel Rose D. Saraum Emarie L. Sarol, Duane B. Singson, Glenda P. Villariasa, Rowela G. Villasan, and Archiel Villaver. ♦
Farmers in the hinterlands of Magsico in San Fernando town received some implements for farm irrigation.
By request of Vice Mayor Ricci Regen Reluya, Taiheiyo Cement Philippines, Inc. (TCPI) provided the Kabulihan Farmers Association with 20 empty steel drums and two rolls of one-half inch water hose. TCPI turned over the implements through Reluya on
Taiheiyo Cement Philippines, Inc. (TCPI) as separately supported Barangays South Poblacion and North Poblacion when both villages celebrated their 51st Foundation Day separately on June 27, 2024.
With its earth materials supplier, Solid Earth Development Corporation (SEDC), the company gave South Poblacion 10 sacks of 5-kilo-
gram rice and lechon for the fellowship party at the Kalahi building in Purok Calao 2.
Navasquez and Labrado turned over the donation with SEDC community relations coordinator Zeny L. Tapuyao and Lou Divina A. Cauba, a documentation specialist.
For North Poblacion, TCPI gave snack provisions for the participants who gathered at the barangay hall. ♦
Sept. 5, 2024 at Sitio Lunâ in Magsico, disclosed Vanessa N. Bongcawil, human resources manager and concurrent head of the community and general affairs section.
She personally handed over the donation with administration manager Moises B. Tañola, her staff Brijade May Navasquez and Efren Labrado, the company’s community relations officer. ♦
