The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) emerged as one of the top companies at the recently concluded 19th Philippine Quill Awards after the power distributor bagged 22 wins and the Company of the Year 1st Runner-up award.
Recognized for its internal and external communication programs, the Meralco Group won eight Excellence Awards and 14 Merit Awards for various programs and initiatives on pandemic response centered on health and safety, customer-centricity, service excellence and stakeholder engagement.
“We have always been committed to creating communication plans and programs that help empower our customers and the public, most especially since the pandemic continues to pose challenges in our way of life. These said challenges invigorate us to strive harder because we firmly understand how crucial stable and reliable electricity service is in enabling work-from-home and online distance learning arrangements and in getting our responsibilities done,” said Meralco Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe Zaldarriaga.
“To be recognized as one of the top companies in communications is truly an honor and it pushes us to develop and implement more programs that will benefit our customers, our communities, and our country,” he added.
Among Meralco’s campaigns that received highest awards include those that ensured customers, stakeholders, and employees were protected, healthy and equipped with helpful information against the COVID-19 pandemic:
“#AyokoMagViral: A Meralco internal campaign against COVID-19” under the Internal Communication category and “Safety First: Empowering Enterprises to Fight an Invisible Enemy” under the Safety Communication category received Excellence Awards on Communication Management.
Meralco’s initiative to make customer payment process more convenient via the “Fitting the Bill: Meralco makes paying bills easier with the Customer Account Number” and its relentless efforts to ensure its external stakeholders remain safe and informed despite the pandemic through the “Meralco Power Up Live: Empowering Business Customers Amidst the Pandemic” both won Excellence Awards in the Customer Relations category.
Also recognized with an Excellence Award under the Customer Relations category was the “Safeguard the Economy at All Costs by Waiving Energy Demand Charge” program, which demonstrated Meralco’s efforts to support its business customers amid the global health crisis.
One Meralco Foundation (OMF), the company’s social development arm, bagged four Merit awards for “Household Electrification Program: Powering-Up Communities Amidst the Pandemic,” “Meralco One for Trees: Helping Farmers Survive the Pandemic through Sustainable Reforestation,” COVIDCOMMS 2021: Farmers to Frontliners and Marginalized (F2FM) Project: Invigorating the Livelihood of Farmers,” and “Stronger Together-The 2020 MVP Academic Achievement Awards Virtual Ceremony.”
Organized by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Philippines, the Philippine Quill Awards is considered the country’s most prestigious awards program in the field of business communication – emphasizing the excellent use of communication in achieving goals and in making a difference in society.
IABC President Belle Tiongco lauded Meralco on its performance.
“For as long as I have been involved with the Quills, Meralco has always been a beacon of communications excellence. Meralco is a communicator that prioritizes its role as a mover, a force for good, in Philippine society. That’s a mindset, I believe, that organizations should emulate so that communications can really be a platform for national development. Mabuhay Meralco, for your performance in this year’s Quills,” Tiongco said.
This year’s awardees came from a crop of more than 800 entries—the highest in Quill history, according to the IABC.