As the years passed, PSFI expanded its reach by offering technical-vocational scholarships to forecourt attendants (through Gas Mo, Bukas Ko) and dependents of public transport drivers (through Unlad sa Pasada). Remarking on the performance of the scholars, Buenaventura thought they were fairly successful: “We found jobs for them and they eventually rose through the ranks. Some of them even became managers.” And because Shell believes in holistic development, they also underwent values formation sessions through the Leadership Enhancement and Attitude Development Workshop.


As PSFI continued its mission of enabling the disadvantaged to become productive and responsible members of society, it went on to improve more lives in the surrounding neighbourhood where Shell’s depots and installations are located. This extended PSFI’s mission from the individual level to the community. When Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. started the Malampaya Deep Water Gas-to-Power Project northwest of Palawan in the ‘90s, PSFI found out malaria was endemic in the province; this drove the foundation to get into health through the Kilusan Ligtas Malaria programme, now known as Movement Against Malaria. As Buenaventura recalled, “It was a small pilot project fully funded by the Malampaya joint venture partners and the foundation. It involved working with the local government and the local health office. It became so successful that it came into the attention of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, which then brought us to the big leagues.” MAM has been a successful programme that we should be very proud of. It has expanded its coverage from 5 to 40 endemic provinces by 2010 and due to favourable results, decreased to 13 by 2015. Moreover, the sustained private-public partnership in malaria control resulted in an 87% reduction in the total number of cases and 96% reduction in deaths due to malaria in the country in 2022 compared to the 2003 baseline. The programme also contributed to the Philippines achieving the Millennium Development Goal 2015 target for malaria as early as 2008. “Now, our target is to be a malaria-free country by 2030; it’s ambitious, but hopefully, we’ll be able to achieve it,” said Buenaventura.