In photo are the 2019 K-Ligtas Awardees holding their K-Ligtas trophies as they are joined by the K-Ligtas Awards Committee composed of executives from Meralco, Meralco Power Academy and their program partners led by the Institute of Integrated Electrical Engineers.

For the fourth year in a row, the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) held its annual recognition of organizations that have instituted power safety protocols as a part of their daily processes.

The country’s first and only industry awards program for electrical safety best practices, the Meralco Kuryenteng Ligtas (K-Ligtas) Awards is an advocacy program of Meralco through its learning and development arm, the Meralco Power Academy (MPA).

“As power is a pervasive commodity that has to be used safely,” said Meralco Power Academy President Ramon B. Segismundo. “The K-Ligtas Awards recognize entities who place a premium on safe energy practices.”

Like in previous years, the 2019 K-Ligtas Awards was held at the at SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. It was held in joint celebration with the 43rd Institute of Integrated Electrical Engineers of the Philippines (IIEE) National Convention.

The roster of K-Ligtas Awards 2019 awardees is a diverse mix of institutions from both the private and public sectors.

“Last year, we had four awardees. This year, that number went up to six. This is a positive indication that the best practices on electrical safety are becoming more universally adopted,” said Meralco K-Ligtas Awards 2019 Chairman Antonio M. Abuel, Jr.

There are four categories on the K-Ligtas Awards: a citation given for Large Commercial Category, one for Large Industrial Category, one for LGU City Category, and a Special Citation – Public School.

For the Large Commercial Category, the lone K-Ligtas Award recipient was the Milano Residences Condominium.

The high-rise residential condominium in Makati won due to a strong commitment to general safety and health, and electrical safety backed by documented company policies and programs, well-defined and faithfully practiced work processes, and a solid implementation of energy efficiency and conservation programs.

In its second year of participation, public school Imus National High School in Cavite was given the Special Citation – Public School for remarkable improvements made on its electrical facilities. The school’s strong leadership held close ties with the local government and Meralco, allowing it to raise funds for the rehabilitation of the school’s electrical system.

Imus National already completed the second of a four-phase program which includes upgrading sub-standard transformers and rewiring the whole school’s power grid.

There were three awardees in the K-Ligtas’ Large Industrial Category.

Ibiden Philippines, Inc. (IPI) won for its strong compliance to labor standards, and a strong commitment to safety and health, and electrical safety. The company benefits from the absolute support from management with regard to its ESH (Environment, Safety, and Health) Programs, and maintains healthy lines of communication between top brass and rank and file, as demonstrated by its regular “Coffee with President” initiative.

Located in Batangas, IPI is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ibiden Co. Ltd, Japan, and is engaged in the production of semiconductor packages for computers, communications, and other application specific devices.

Per its sector requirements, IPI follows stringent cleanroom specifications, a standard that appears to have extended to electrical facilities kept spotlessly clean and compliant.

The second winner is Laguna’s STMicroelectronics. A company that delivers intelligent and energy efficient products and solutions that power the electronics at the heart of everyday life, the global semiconductor leader won on the merits of concrete programs on safety and health, emergency preparedness, energy efficiency and conservation, and electrical safety.

Winning the third K-Ligtas Award under Large Industrial Category is Froneri Philippines, Inc., makers of Nestle Ice Cream and Nobrelli Ice Cream with products like Nestle Temptation, Oreo, Drumstick, Kit-Kat, Cadbury and Nestle Yoghurt.

Froneri won for its management’s strong commitment to safety and health, in particular to the implementation of safety practices where machines and equipment are concerned.

Lastly, the 2019 K-Ligtas Award for LGU City Category was bestowed to Quezon City.

With 142 barangays and six districts, Quezon City is the largest city in Northeastern Manila; making it that much more remarkable it won due to an extensive implementation of a City Ordinance on the safe installation and maintenance of poles and distribution lines.

“The winners of 2019 K-Ligtas Awards are truly exemplary in how they put safety as topmost priority and ingrain it in their day-to-day processes. It is only apt that they are recognized for their efforts to provide a safe haven for their respective businesses and communities,” added K-Ligtas 2019 Chair Abuel. “They set a new standard on safety practices implementation, and we are optimistic that more organizations will follow suit”, he concluded.