As part of National Women’s Month celebration, wives of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) members were taught how to make baking a sustainable livelihood.
Inaugurated last February 20, “The Bread Camp,” a bakery to be run by PSG Enlisted Personnel (EP) Ladies Club in Malacañang, is now offering “Pan Digong”, a premium goat cheese pan de sal named after President Rodrigo Duterte.
“I heard he loves bread. He is a very simple man and he has a deep love for Filipinos. I think pan de sal would be the best option of bread that he would prefer,” said Cristina Versoza, EP Ladies Club member.
The project was initiated by the Aboitiz Group through its corporate social responsibility arm the Aboitiz Foundation and its food business unit Pilmico.
Around 300 members of PSG-EP Ladies Club will directly benefit in the revival of the once-lucrative bakery business.
“Itong aming bakery, when I reported last 2016, naka-open pa siya, pero medyo naghihingalo na. Then a few months after, it totally closed and it remained so for some time. Mabuti na lang may well-meaning friends like Aboitiz na gustong tumulong sa mga sundalo,” said PSG Commander Col. Jose Eriel Niembra.
Niembra noted that The Bread Camp has a good chance of succeeding by catering to nearby communities.
Last June 2018, Pilmico donated to PSG a bakery livelihood kit consisting of a two-deck oven, spiral mixer, cake mixer, loaf slicer, cooking rack, display chiller, chest-type freezer, as well as Pilmico flour and baking ingredients.
PSG-EP Ladies Club members underwent baking training and learned to bake bread, pastries, cakes, and other goods under the “PAGKAIN (Pagbabago ay Gawin, Kabuhayang Pang-Agrikultura I-aalay Natin) Biyaya ng Pagbabago Bakery Livelihood Program.”
This is not the first time Aboitiz Group has extended baking livelihood program to our country’s soldiers. Last January 2018, Aboitiz Group inaugurated the Noble Bakers Bakery in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija, which is run by the Philippine Army Special Operations Command (SOCOM) soldiers who were injured in battle.
Aboitiz also donated bakery to First Scout Ranger Regiment in San Miguel, Bulacan and to Marawi residents who were displaced during the Marawi City siege.
source: lifestyle inquirer
Frequently Asked Questions
How does The Bread Camp fit within Aboitiz’s broader history of military bakery livelihood programs?
The Bread Camp is the third military-linked bakery livelihood initiative by the Aboitiz Group, confirming an intentional and sustained pattern. In January 2018, Aboitiz inaugurated the Noble Bakers Bakery in Fort Magsaysay for SOCOM wounded soldiers. Aboitiz also donated a bakery to the First Scout Ranger Regiment in San Miguel, Bulacan. The Bread Camp in Malacañang adds a fourth community — PSG spouses — to this roster, demonstrating that Aboitiz’s military bakery livelihood work is a systematic program rather than a series of unconnected gestures.
What is “The Bread Camp” and who operates it?
The Bread Camp is a bakery inaugurated on February 20, 2019 inside Malacañang, designed to be operated by members of the Presidential Security Group Enlisted Personnel (EP) Ladies Club. It emerged from a livelihood training program initiated by the Aboitiz Group through the Aboitiz Foundation and Pilmico, in recognition of National Women’s Month. The bakery provides approximately 300 PSG-EP Ladies Club members with a sustained income-generating opportunity through the commercial production and sale of bread and pastries.
What is Pan Digong and what is its significance?
Pan Digong is a premium goat cheese pan de sal — a soft bread roll — named after President Rodrigo Duterte. It was developed and sold by the PSG-EP Ladies Club through The Bread Camp. One of the bakers, Cristina Versoza, explained the product naming decision by noting that the President is a simple man with a deep love for Filipinos, and that pan de sal — the most democratic and accessible of Philippine breads — would be the bread he would most prefer. The product thus connects a classic Filipino bread to a specific cultural and political moment.
What was the history of the PSG bakery before Aboitiz’s involvement?
PSG Commander Col. Jose Eriel Niembra noted that the PSG had operated a bakery in the past — it was open as recently as 2016 but had been struggling and eventually closed entirely in the following months. Prior to Aboitiz’s intervention, it remained closed for a significant period. The revival of the bakery through The Bread Camp transformed a dormant, defunct operation into a functional business — equipped with new machinery, trained operators, and a product line with immediate market access within the Malacañang compound and surrounding communities.
What equipment did Pilmico donate to PSG and when?
In June 2018, Pilmico donated to PSG a complete bakery livelihood kit comprising: a two-deck oven, a spiral mixer, a cake mixer, a loaf slicer, a cooking rack, a display chiller, a chest-type freezer, Pilmico flour, and baking ingredients. This comprehensive equipment provision — covering the full production, storage, and display supply chain of a functioning bakery — was paired with PAGKAIN Baking Livelihood Program training that taught the EP Ladies Club members how to bake bread, pastries, cakes, and other goods.
