The Corporate Network for Disaster Response is a network of business groups and associations whose objective is to rationalize and institutionalize the disaster relief efforts of the business and NGO communities. CNDR also specializes in disaster prevention, mitigation, and preparedness. In times of disaster, the network is mobilized to conduct damage assessment, source relief goods and financial assistance from donors, and distribute these through NGOs that already have a presence in the communities targeted for assistance.

Visit the CNDR website

GILAS, or Gearing up Internet Literacy and Access for Students, is a multisectoral initiative, spearheaded by corporations and concerned nonprofit institutions, that seeks to bridge the digital divide among the Philippines’ public high-school students. It aims to provide Internet access to all of the country’s public secondary school students to promote information literacy.

Visit the GILAS website

The National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections is a national, nonpartisan voluntary organization dedicated to promoting democracy through free, orderly, and honest elections and good governance. It carries out its mission by serving as a pollwatcher group during elections in the Philippines. Founded in 1983, NAMFREL has monitored every major Philippine election since then. It is also involved in anti-corruption programs, such as the monitoring of the procurement and distribution of medicines for public hospitals by the Department of Health.

Visit the NAMFREL website

Philippine Business for Education, or PBEd, was formed by members of the Philippine business community in 2006 to help form a consensus on the paths to education reform and to spearhead efforts along those directions. To achieve its goals, PBEd works with other sectors who also have a stake in reforming the country’s education system, such as schools, other civil society organizations, and government agencies and units. One of its current programs, the 1000 Teachers Program, offers scholarships to bright students who wish to pursue a career in education. PBEd also supports the 5775 Education Reform Movement, whose goal is to “reverse the education crisis through focused intervention and school-community action, towards system-wide performance improvements.”

Visit the PBEd website