Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation wins ESGBusiness Awards 2024 for Child Road Safety Initiatives
The leading tollways group in the Philippines has once again demonstrated its commitment in pursuing high impact initiatives that highlight road safety for one of the most vulnerable groups—children. This commitment is amplified through its partnership with UNICEF Philippines which helps government and organisations, like MPTC, to strengthen their programmes targeted for child survival, development, and overall well-being.
The leading tollways company in the Philippines, Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), has once again bagged an ESGBusiness Award — this time under the Collaborative Partnership Award - Philippines category — highlighting its partnership with UNICEF, which focusses on addressing the pressing issue of increasing incidence of child road traffic injuries in the Philippines. Globally, road crash-related injuries are the leading cause of death for children and youth aged 5 to 29 years old, as per the 2023 Global Status Report on Road Safety 2023, Geneva: World Health Organization.
According to UNICEF’s 2022 Technical Guidance for Child and Adolescent Road Safety, nearly 220,000 children and adolescents 0-19 years die annually, resulting in more than 600 preventable deaths each day, or two (2) deaths every two (2) minutes. In the Philippines, road traffic injury deaths increased by 39% (7,939 deaths in 2011 and 11,096 deaths in 2021), according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (2023).
School-aged children are amongst the most vulnerable, with the highest observed prevalence amongst 15-19 year-old adolescents, wherein an estimated eight (8) per 100,000 individuals in this age group are dying due to road traffic injuries, accounting for 837 deaths annually, per the World Health Organization, Global Health Estimates, 2019.
The collaboration adopts a safe systems approach to advancing child road safety through initiatives that highlight safe school zone modelling, road safety awareness, health system strengthening, child-responsive urban planning, and the integration of child rights principles in business practices.
Ultimately, the goal of the project support is to contribute to the United Nation’s Second Decade of Action for Road Safety and Sustainable Development Goals Target 3.6, which aims to reduce by half global road fatalities by 2030.
The project support to UNICEF has four components. First is safe school zone modelling that aims to support 100 schools and about 20,000 children in high-risk areas utilising evaluation methodologies that combine qualitative and quantitative techniques that assess safety improvements across schools. Under this, pilot schools have been supported in Valenzuela City and Zamboanga City and have expanded to Angeles City and Cagayan de Oro City.
The second component involves support to the national child road safety programme, which includes strategic actions through a national coalition for Child Road Traffic Injury Prevention, and advanced data strengthening capacity building that allows for targeted analysis and strategic interventions for road traffic injury prevention.
The third component involves Social Behaviour Change Communication, which promotes road safety through educational and public awareness campaigns. It has currently reached nearly three million individuals for both in-person and online activities, with significant contributions from MPTC’s subsidiaries, namely, MPT South Management Corp. and the North Luzon Expressway Corp.
The fourth component of the project support is the integration of Child’s Rights and Business Principles into MPTC’s operations by developing internal policies, training, and partnerships that ensure child rights become a key part of the company’s practices.
The project support and collaboration with UNICEF is a testament to MPTC’s long-standing commitment to child welfare and road safety.
“Our collaborative partnership with UNICEF in pursuit of child road safety is not just an initiative but a declaration of our purpose. It is a manifestation of the transformative power of businesses when they join forces for a common cause. We firmly believe that this partnership sets the standard for collaborative alliances, deserving recognition for its capacity to effect genuine, lasting change in the world,” said MPTC Chief Corporate Governance and Risk, Head of Sustainability Atty. Cynthia “Dacky” G. Casiño.
The ESGBusiness Awards celebrates companies that are leading the way in building a sustainable future. It also highlights businesses that demonstrate outstanding commitment and achievement in environmental, social, and governance practices.
The ESGBusiness Awards is presented by ESGBusiness. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2025 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's outstanding commitment and achievement in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices, please contact Julie Anne Nuñez at [email protected].
