CARING FOR THE COMMUNITY

"We are Family" goes beyond the confines of the Bank. Much more than a brand promise, it is a commitment. Much more than a commitment, it is a way of life for our organization. Our corporate social responsibility has always thrived on the personal involvement of our employees in sharing their time, talent, and resources to help and uplift the communities that form part of the CTBC Bank Family. Caring means not just giving aid; it means building the future.

We believe that education is a powerful tool for building the future. Thus, in our partnership with Gawad Kalinga (GK), a civil society initiative that seeks to end poverty through communities empowered in a culture of caring and sharing, we not only helped build the GK Sison community but also put up the CTBC Bank Sibol School. Further, we sponsored nine scholars as well as the teachers' salaries over a period of three years. GK Sison – formerly a marginalized group of informal settlers in Muntinlupa City – was thus transformed into a healthy, productive, and sustainable community through "bayanihan" or neighbors being heroes to each other. The Bank's employees and clients volunteered to build houses as well as conduct programs for feeding and nutrition, youth development, training and education.

Apart from GK, the Bank also partnered with the Federation of Fil-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry to build two elementary schools in Bulacan. Further, we have donated computer units to the Bulacan Polytechnic College through the AiHu Foundation, Goodwill Industries Philippines, Inc., and to five beneficiary elementary schools in the 1st District of Zamboanga del Sur through the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office.

In 2011, the Bank partnered with the National Book Store Foundation, Inc (NBSFI) for the "Better Readers. Brighter Future." reading and literacy enhancement program, where it donated books and refurbished libraries in designated public elementary schools in Metro Manila and other key provincial cities where it maintained its presence. To date, twenty public elementary schools have been benefited from the Bank's reading and literacy enhancement program.

As a gesture of solidarity and support to the victims of the super-typhoon Yolanda, the Bank in 2015 donated PhP15 million to the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) for the post re-construction of disaster-resilient single storey three-classroom buildings and the acquisition of furniture, fixtures, and educational supplies for three public schools in the municipalities of Bogo and Tabogon, Northern Cebu. The project, which was also in cooperation with NBSFI and the Department of Education (DepEd), was supplementary to the Bank's and NBSFI's "Better Readers. Brighter Future." program.

On January 2020, the Bank launched its 'Pamilyang CTBC Para sa Taal' Employee Donation Drive which aimed to help the communities affected by the Taal Volcano eruption. The Bank employees raised funds to purchase Care Packs and contributed several boxes of in-kind donations which were distributed by employee-volunteers at the evacuation centers in San Pablo, Laguna, and Sto. Niño Parish, Barangay Marawoy in Lipa, Batangas.

The Bank also launched its "Light up a Child's Christmas", an Employee Donation Drive aimed to bring Yuletide cheer to the pediatric patients of the Philippine Children's Medical Center and National Children's Hospital, and also the orphans of CRIBS Foundation, Inc. This philanthropic initiative was in response to CTBC Charity Foundation, Inc.'s call for CTBC Bank Taiwan and all its 16 overseas subsidiaries to undertake charitable activities to benefit the disadvantaged children during the "International Charity Month" from December 7, 2020 to January 7, 2021. Through the overwhelming support and generosity of the employees, CTBC Bank Philippines was able to donate 400 Christmas Blessing Packages to the pediatric patients of the two (2) government hospitals that contained personal safety, hygiene, and learning kits, and grocery items. More personal safety items like face masks, PPE suits, and gallons of alcohol were also given to the hospitals' personnel. For the orphanage, the Bank turned over grocery items which were part of their Christmas wishlist.

As with its parent bank CTBC Bank Taiwan, and its other overseas subsidiaries who have been helping COVID-19 relief efforts around the world, CTBC Bank Philippines has come forward once again to donate an Advance Life Support Ambulance to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), a tertiary state-owned and biggest COVID-19 referral hospital in the country. The brand new ambulance which is fully equipped with life support capabilities is for the use of the Department of Emergency Medicine of the PGH to help them transport critically-ill patients and provide emergency first response care for them while enroute to the emergency room.

These are among the corporate social responsibility efforts through which we hope to have inspired better citizens, stronger communities. As a Family, we intend to continue building a brighter future.