The Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) is a private, non-profit organization that aims to promote and strengthen the business sector’s commitment to social development. Established by 50 founding member-companies in 1970, it now has more than 220 members from the business sector, including multinational companies, major corporations, small and medium enterprises, and sole proprietorships.

PBSP created its Center for Corporate Citizenship in 1991 to encourage companies to put their corporate citizenship in actual practice. The center’s projects are focused on four main themes: social investment, corporate-community partnership, managing of workplace concerns, and environmental stewardship.

In 2001, the center introduced the Business and Peace Program as a vehicle for enabling the private sector to help promote peace in the country’s perennial conflict areas, particularly the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The first phase of the program was aimed at strengthening partnerships among the local and international organizations that are working for peace and development in that region, and for this purpose, the Center for Corporate Citizenship developed and piloted the Young Muslim Professionals for Business and Peace program, or YuPPeace for short.

The YuPPeace was created to provide internship opportunities in Metro Manila to Muslim professionals with the following qualifications: 20 to 35 years of age, currently employed in small and medium enterprises in the ARMM, committed to contribute to peace and development in the ARMM, and willing to work in a multicultural environment. By 2005, the program had arranged for the deployment of 11 Muslim interns to four Manila-based companies—matching the needs of the host company that would provide internship training with those of the internship-seeking company that could benefit from the intern’s training.

We at the Center for Corporate Citizenship are working with local business chambers in the ARMM to assess the qualifications of interested internship applicants, and we are also encouraging the business chambers to recommend to us deserving interns who want to avail of the training opportunities under the program. The internship period under the program is from three to six months, but it may be extended depending on the host company’s needs. The host company typically provides its interns a monthly allowance that ranges from P12,000 to P15,000 or as agreed upon by the parties concerned.

Upon completion of their internship, the interns are debriefed to assess the quality of their internship engagement. Each intern then presents his or her learning experiences to the PBSP and the host company, which also gives its feedback to the intern. After that, the intern returns to his or her home company to apply the new skills or knowledge he or she has learned.

Under the YuPPeace program, interns returning to their current jobs are duty-bound to fulfill their post-internship obligations. They are expected to help enhance the business processes of their respective companies or establishments particularly in the areas of human resources management, marketing, and accounting. On the part of the interns, we expect that their improved job performance brought about by their internship training would enhance their chances for promotion and higher salaries. In the case of the Manila-based companies that host the interns, they will also be benefiting from the program because it promotes cultural and and social diversity in the workplace.

From 2001 to 2006, YuPPeace had deployed a total of 22 interns to eight host companies and institutions in Metro Manila, namely the British Embassy, Control Risks Group, De La Salle University, HSBC, Jollibee Foods Corp., Nestle Philippines, Unilever Philippines, and PBSP itself.

Among our successful interns is Samirah Mala of the Hamsand Hardware and Construction Supply in Cotabato City, who did her internship at Unilever Philippines. Upon her return to her work, she put up a human resources system and an environmental management system for the commercial establishment where she works, and she was later named the executive director of the Muslim Chamber of Commerce of Kutawato, where she also developed new training programs.

Two other interns made good after doing their respective YuPPeace internships. Tommy Karl Pendatun, who did his internship at HSBC, later initiated the expansion of the banking operations of the Paglas Rural Bank in Maguindanao, Norina Usman, who came from the UP-School of Islamic Studies and did her internship at PBSP, eventually established a company of her own that puts out publications on Islamic literature.

This year, with the assistance of the British Chamber of Commerce and the British Embassy in Manila, we are doing a continuing promotional effort and are arranging forums to encourage more host companies to commit to the program. Our target is to be able to double or triple the current number of YuPPeace interns, and we are making arrangements with internship-providing companies to give their interns an allowance that can adequately cover accommodations, transportation, and food expenses for the duration of their internship. We are also arranging for the internship-providing companies to guarantee and duly assign mentors for their interns.

For the second phase of the program that started in October 2006, we are targeting to deploy 60 interns over the next three years, including the 29 that we have earmarked for this year. We have launched radio ads for this purpose and have asked local business chambers in the ARMM to give us qualified referrals.

We hope to institutionalize and expand the YuPPeace internship program by working hand-in-hand with business organizations that are desirous of helping young Muslims, particularly fresh graduates, and by inviting the wider business community to adopt and expand the internship program that we have started.

Grace Pedragosa is the manager of the Center for Corporate Citizenship of the Philippine Business for Social Progress. For more information on the Yuppeace program, please contact PBSP at Tel. (02) 527-7741 to 48 or (02) 527-3747 or (02) 527-3743. You can also send e-mail to YuPPeace@pbsp.org.ph or visit their website at www.pbsp.org.ph