MANILA, Philippines — Moving quickly to support disaster response following a catastrophic natural disaster in the south, the corporate social responsibility arm of gaming firm Casino Plus has mobilized emergency financial and material relief. The company’s Color Your World Foundation has committed over P3 million in direct emergency assistance to heavily impacted communities across Southern Mindanao.
The relief intervention comes in the immediate wake of a massive magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck offshore Sarangani earlier this week.
The humanitarian package is being rolled out under the foundation’s flagship disaster resilience and response pillar, dubbed “Project Bigkis” (meaning bond), explicitly designed to bind resources and accelerate grassroots rehabilitation:
[ PROJECT BIGKIS HUMANITARIAN ALLOCATION ]
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[ GEOGRAPHIC TARGET AREAS ] [ CRITICAL RELIEF MATERIALS ]
• **Ground Zero Focus:** Funding and material logistics are strictly • **Shelter & Power:** At least **150 livable tents** and
directed to General Santos City and Sarangani Province. • over **1,000 solar-powered lamps** to aid displaced families.
• **Severe Damage Realities:** Gensan stands as one of the hardest • **Hygiene & Medical Support:** Nearly **1,500 medicine and**
hit urban zones, suffering major structural collapses. • **hygiene kits** alongside massive bulk potable water shipments.
The massive tectonic event has triggered a widespread humanitarian and economic crisis across the SOCCSKSARGEN and Davao regions, drawing rapid co-investment from both state funds and private corporate conglomerates:
[ MINDANAO 7.8 EARTHQUAKE IMPACT METRICS ] │ ▼[ Humanitarian Toll ] ──► The official death toll has climbed to **55 casualties**, with over 1,100 individuals reported injured across southern provinces. │ ▼[ Seismic Aftershocks ]──► The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) has logged **over 2,000 continuous aftershocks**, keeping local families in emergency shelters. │ ▼[ State Relief Pool ] ──► The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has simultaneously earmarked a massive **P15.1 Billion emergency loan facility** to protect local workers and pensioners.
Casino Plus Chief Executive Officer Evan Spytma and CSR Director Michael Angelo Horfilla clarified that the company’s structural strategy transitions away from short-term handouts into concrete, community-level structural recovery:
- Educational Reconstruction: The foundation is actively collaborating with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) to fully fund and rebuild classrooms demolished by the tremors, aiming to restore functional learning spaces before the upcoming academic school year.
- Livelihood Renewal Programs: Launching localized economic development programs to retrain and equip the hardest-hit municipal families with tools and vocational options to recover lost income streams.
Casino Plus joins an extensive network of top-tier private industry groups coordinating with the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) to augment local municipal capabilities.
| Private Corporate Group | Primary Relief Deployment Focus | Key Logistical Assets Deployed to SOCCSKSARGEN |
| Color Your World Foundation (Casino Plus) | Emergency Shelter & Education; targeting family-level safety nets and rebuilding ruined classrooms. | 150 Livable Tents, 1,500 Medical/Hygiene Kits, 1,000 Solar Lamps, Clean Drinking Water. |
| The Razon Group Entities (Prime Electric, ICTSI, Manila Water) | Utility Restoration & Public Infrastructure; reviving city electricity baselines and fresh water supply grids. | Industrial Generators, Bulk Fuel Shipments, Industrial Cooling Fans, Mobile Water Treatment Plants. |
| Meralco & One Meralco Foundation | Energy Security & Food Logistics; backing isolated municipal evacuation centers and local health hubs. | Massive Food Packs, Emergency Energy Lanterns, Structured Clean Water Networks. |
“When disaster strikes, the truest measure of who we are—as organizations and as people—is not what we say, but how quickly and meaningfully we show up. We are committed to acting swiftly, providing temporary shelter, essential supplies, and the immediate support they need to begin healing,” Casino Plus CEO Evan Spytma emphasized.
The private sector’s immediate mobilization following the magnitude 7.8 Mindanao earthquake shows how crucial corporate social responsibility is to national disaster management. When an earthquake of this scale hits, local government infrastructures in places like General Santos City are instantly pushed to their breaking points. By stepping in with specialized, practical aid like solar lamps and structural tents, private entities fill immediate survival gaps while the state handles macro financial relief, like the GSIS’s P15.1 billion loan program. More importantly, looking past immediate handouts to pledge the reconstruction of classrooms and livelihood centers shows an understanding of real resilience. For Mindanaoan communities facing a long recovery, this unified corporate showing provides the structural support needed to rebuild securely.