Road to Resilience. At the National Resilience Council Foundation’s Resilient Local Government Units Program Colloquium last May, Aboitiz Foods’ partners from the local government of Iligan presented the city’s localized disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation strategies toward building a resilient, empowered, and future-ready city. / Photo Courtesy: National Resilience Council Foundation
ILIGAN CITY, Lanao Del Norte – Fourteen years after the devastation of Typhoon Washi (local name: Sendong), Iligan City is now emerging as a model for resilience not only in Mindanao, but in the whole country, through the Adopt-A-City Program – Aboitiz Foods’ corporate social responsibility initiative through Pilmico Foods Corporation.
Launched in 2022, the Adopt-A-City Program is an ongoing public-private-people partnership among Aboitiz Foods, the local government of Iligan, Aboitiz Foundation, National Resilience Council Foundation, Inc., and Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT). Guided by a three-phase framework, Adopt-A-City strengthens Iligan’s disaster resilience across different sectors and levels by advancing science-based tools and solutions, engaging multiple stakeholders, and promoting inclusive governance systems that help the city prepare for, adapt to, and recover from climate and disaster risks.
“Iligan is more than just a host city for Pilmico’s entire feed and flour operations in the Philippines; it has been our home for over 60 years,” said Alexis Revantad, Aboitiz Foods Vice President for Iligan Site Management and Flour Operations, adding, “By investing in resilience and helping the city adapt to climate risks, we’re protecting more than 368,000 lives—their livelihoods, and their future.”
Reaching across all 44 barangays, the Adopt-A-City Program started with the Prepare phase, which empowers local leaders, the academe, youth, civil society, and communities through people-centered capacity-building interventions—uniting Iligan in a shared journey and responsibility toward resilience.
Since its launch, the program has achieved significant milestones, including a validated Climate and Disaster Risk Assessment, a Local Climate Change Action Plan, the creation of the Iligan City Resilience Committee, the Resilience Local Government System Scorecard baseline for identifying resilience gaps, and the rollout of the Barangay Resilience Bingo Scorecard for grassroots risk planning.
In just three years, Iligan’s resilience score leapt to 84.38% across five program pillars—an extraordinary transformation from a near-zero baseline. In 2024, Iligan City also received a Gawad KALASAG Fully Compliant Award, the country’s highest honor for disaster preparedness, given to local government units, institutions, and individuals for their excellent implementation of Disaster Risk Reduction and Management and Climate Change Adaptation programs.
Now in its Adapt and Transform phase, the Adopt-A-City Program has helped shift Iligan from reactive response to proactive resilience-building, ensuring that the tragedy of Typhoon Sendong, which claimed hundreds of lives and devastated local industries, will never be repeated.
“Through the Adopt-A-City Program, we are not just responding to risks – we are transforming our city into a model of proactive governance, innovation, and community-driven solutions,” said Iligan City Mayor Frederick Siao.
Anchored on its brand promise, “Together we nourish the future,” Aboitiz Foods embodies the Aboitiz Group’s mission of advancing business and communities through initiatives that build resilient livelihoods, sustainable communities, and inclusive growth. The Adopt-A-City Program directly aligns with the Philippine Development Plan 2023–2028 and contributes to several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Climate Action (SDG 13), Sustainable Cities (SDG 11), and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17).
As climate risks intensify across the country and Southeast Asia, Iligan’s transformation demonstrates the power of public-private-people partnerships. The Adopt-A-City Program offers a replicable model for other cities across the region, proof that by funding resilience, not disasters, big businesses can play a pivotal role in safeguarding communities, lives, and economies.
FAQs:
- What is the Adopt-A-City Program?
Launched in 2022, the Adopt-A-City Program is one of Aboitiz Foods’ corporate social responsibility programs in Iligan City. It is a three-phase pathway that adapts a whole-of-society approach to strengthen disaster resilience, decrease vulnerability, and mainstream climate adaptation in the communities. It aims to empower Iligan’s local government leaders, barangays, and communities with science-based tools and governance mechanisms to prepare for, anticipate, and better recover from disasters.
- Who are Aboitiz Foods’ partners in this CSR initiative?
The Adopt-A-City Program is an ongoing public-private-people partnership among Aboitiz Foods, through Pilmico Foods Corporation and the Aboitiz Foundation, the local government of Iligan, National Resilience Council Foundation, and the Mindanao State University–Iligan Institute of Technology. The initiative brings together stakeholders from the national and local government, academe, NGOs, and community-based organizations.
- Why did Pilmico choose Iligan City for this CSR initiative?
For Aboitiz Foods, supporting the Adopt-A-City Program as part of its corporate social responsibility is a story of coming full circle. Iligan City has been Pilmico Foods Corporation’s home for 63 years. After Typhoon Sendong hit the city in 2011, the company aided in the city’s rehabilitation efforts. Now, the company gives back on a wider scale by investing in the city’s resilience and future, so its communities can adapt better and stronger to climate-related risks.
- What are the significant milestones of the Adopt-A-City Program?
For the past three years, the Adopt-A-City Program has delivered groundbreaking milestones in Iligan City under its Prepare phase. One of which is achieving an 84.38% rating in the Resilient Local Government System Scorecard from a near-zero baseline. Iligan City also received a Gawad Kalasag Fully Compliant Award in 2024, the country’s highest honor for disaster preparedness. Other milestones include a complete and validated Climate Disaster Risk Assessment, a Local Climate Change Action Plan, the creation of the Iligan City Resilience Committee, the launch of the Barangay Resilience Bingo Scorecard, and the rollout of the Young Leaders for Resilience Program.
