Los Banos, Laguna — The team from Sultan Kudarat Polytechnic State College Science Laboratory High School won last June 21, 2009’s SAGE Philippines Cup 2009, making them the very first team from Mindanao to win Champion.
The team was composed of high school students Kent Rey Murillo, Johanna Lyn Malicad, John Rei Dela Cruz, and Ena Angela Oculto. Their College mentor, Mark Gersava, and Faculty Adviser Engr. Rodolfo B. Soloman were also present at the Cup, coaching them for their presentation and celebrating with them when they finally won the year’s most coveted Cup at the only high school business competition in the Philippines.
Aside from the opportunity to represent the Philippines at the SAGE World Cup in Brazil, the team also received an P8,000 prize grant from Youth Works Inc. to further work on their social enterprise, which satisfied the following SAGE Criteria of Civic Engagement, Environmental Sustainability, a Global Dimension, and Entrepreneurship applied to a new venture. The team’s business strikes a balance between economy and ecology by coming up with an innovative use of palm fronds into cement blocks. The final product proves to be 20% more economical than commercial hollow blocks used in construction. Palm Fronds Hollow Blocks is also fire-resistant and lightweight. The business promises to address the acute housing shortage in the country and arrest the rising cost of construction materials.
SAGE teams from Colomban College and Polytechnic State College of Antique received the 1st Runner Up and 2nd Runner Up titles at the Cup with their projects. An unexpected recognition was given to Elizabeth Seton High School through a Judges’ Special Citation for having “captured” the essence of a social enterprise. Other teams that competed were from Western Visayas College of Science and Technology and Pangasinan State University.
The Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship Philippines is part of the Global SAGE Network which adheres to the vision of “creating better futures through entrepreneurship and community service. It commits itself to the mission to create the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders whose innovations and social enterprises address the major unmet needs of our global community.
The SAGE Philippines Cup is an annual competition for high school students all over the country who have ventured into social entrepreneurship. This year’s Cup was co-convened by the Philippine Council of Student Intrapreneurship (PCSI) and the Junior Jaycees of Los Banos. The event was supported by the British Council, Youth Works Inc, and Studio 23.
View the complete photostream from the Cup here.
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