Wong Chu King Foundation Funds Xavier School Chapel Construction

Wong Chu King Foundation, a non-government organization that supports education is funding the construction of the Sacred Heart Chapel of the Senior High School Building of Xavier School in San Juan, Metro Manila.

Wong Chu King Foundation Vice President Caesar Wongchuking said that the project was in line with the passion of his father to help the poor through various programs particularly centered on education.

The new Sacred Heart Chapel is dedicated “in loving memory of the friendship” of Mr. Wongchuking and Jesuit priests Jean Desautels and Ismael Zuloaga.

Fr. Desautels, a French-Canadian Jesuit priest was one of the school’s founders and its first president and director.  While Fr. Zuloaga was the school’s longest-serving president and director at 19 years, from 1966 to 1985. The school is named after St. Francis Xavier, one of the first leaders of the Jesuit missions in China.

A lot of people didn't know that Wongchuking was one of the school’s founding donors.  

“All of us, my siblings and I, graduated from Xavier School and imbibed the Jesuit’s God, education and service-centered mission,” Caesar Wongchuking recalled.  

Meanwhile, Wong Chu King Foundation Executive Director Alex Wongchuking said, “This project is our way of honoring our father’s friendship with the Jesuit community and paying forward for the excellent education we received from the school.”

The foundation also funds the education of hundreds of poor but deserving students all over the country.

Wong Chu King Foundation is the corporate social arm of Mighty Corporation or Mighty Corp, the only wholly Filipino-owned cigarette manufacturing company in the Philippines.

Mighty Corp Doubles Leaf Purchases From Local Farmers

Mighty Corporation or Mighty Corp is known to be as the Philippines number one producer of low-priced brands of cigarettes.

The first and only filipino-owned cigarette manufacturer in the country recently announced that it will double its purchase of raw tobacco products from local farmers in Northern Luzon this year amounting to millions of pesos of additional income for the local tobacco industry.

Mighty Corp Executive Vice President Oscar P. Barrientos said in an official letter to the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) Head Edgardo Zaragoza,  that it would buy tobacco from local farmers 100% more than the 5 million kilograms his firm bought in 2013.

“This is to assure our tobacco farmers of our willingness to help in response to the published report of the market leader in the tobacco industry to lessen production this year,” Barrientos said.

In effect, the announcement debunked critics’ allegations that Mighty Corp has been importing raw materials from foreign countries at low prices and is no longer buying tobacco from local farmers.

Barrientos also revealed that critics had been resorting to a disinformation campaign using convoluted data in an effort to undermine Mighty Corp's tremendous increase in the tobacco industry's market shares which soared to almost 20% on its low-priced cigarette brands last year, resulting in the payment P8.2 billion in excise taxes to the government.

Barrientos said that the increase is expected since the government already effectively implemented Republic Act 10352, or the Sin Tax Law, that leveled the playing field in the multi-billion peso industry controlled by Philip Morris and Fortune Tobacco.

The new Sin Tax Law that took 14 years to pass caused a tremendous migration of smokers from the expensive premium and sub-premium brands to low-priced cigarettes.

It also resulted in some smokers to simply quit the smoking and validated health authorities’ estimate that the new law would result in the decrease of the number of smokers in the country.

Wong Chu King Foundation Restores Cavite Church and Preserves History

A duty to church and society!

This is how the Wong Chu King Foundation sees its group's mission in restoring historic churches and other religious structures.

Take for example the Diocesan Shrine of the Immaculate Concepcion of Mary in Naic, Cavite which the foundation, with the help of Mighty Corporation, has recently restored to its former glory in March this year.

As we all know, some of the Important events in the history of our nation took place inside the walls of our churches.  These landmarks played a vital role in the lives of many Filipinos and are enduring symbols of the Catholic faith in the Philippines.

The Diocesan Shrine of the Immaculate Concepcion of Mary is one of the oldest and largest church in the coastal town along Manila Bay and stood as a precious link to our ante-bellum Spanish colonial past.  Spanish friars built the church as a low-roofed stone structure in 1835 but was rebuilt and completed with a neo-Gothic convent complex in 1872. The church played a role in the fight of Filipinos for independence against Spanish, American and Japanese conquerors.

“We cannot allow this historic church to go into a state of disrepair,” said Alex Wongchuking, Executive Director of the Wong Chu King Foundation, which has devoted its resources to rebuilding churches in the country, helping the poor get education and doing other charitable works.

The Wong Chu King Foundation is the social arm of Mighty Corporation or Mighty Corp, the first and only Filipino-owned cigarette manufacturing company in the Philippines. Wongchuking completed reconstruction work on the shrine last February and the official turn-over was held last March 30, on the occasion of the foundation’s 24th anniversary.

“The church strengthened the Filipino faith and it stands as a mute witness to the martyrdom of the defenders of Philippine freedom and nationhood,” Wongchuking said.

Cavite Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista said that the restoration of the church to its original architecture will “encourage people to grow in their faith, in a life of prayer and in a life of holiness, which is God’s desire for all of us.”

The Bishop also said that the roof and the walls of the shrine were crumbling and the church’s interior gradually deteriorating, Wong Chu King Foundation came like an answered prayer to them.

“With this beautiful church, one can say that the presence of God is really felt by the people,” Bishop Evangelista concluded.

Mrs. Nelia Dy Wongchuking, Wong Chu King Foundation President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, was born in Naic and has fond memories of the church of her youth.

The young Nelia met her husband, Wongchuking, in the church vicinity while the latter was selling cigarettes, and their love blossomed against the backdrop of this ancient and historical landscape.  Wongchuking later founded La Campana Fabrica de Tobacos shortly after the end of World War II.  Both Wongchuking and his wife, Nelia, were a simple, hard-working and religious couple. The Christian values they brought to their workplace shaped the company that is now known as Mighty Corporation.

Wongchuking died several years ago but his legacy lives through the foundation which was put up in 1990 to perpetuate his name through scholarship programs, cultural and charitable activities.

In addition to rebuilding the Diocesan Shrine of the Immaculate Concepcion of Mary, the foundation also built a new garden with a fountain for the parish, said Wong Chu King Foundation General Manager James Navarette said.

Mighty Corp President Edilberto Adan said the church was restored to its 19th century architectural design, but the scars made by cannon blasts on church walls were retained to preserve its history. 

Wong Chu King Foundation and Mighty Corp Brings Hope to Filipino Tobacco Farmers

Wong Chu King Foundation the corporate social responsibility arm of local cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corporation provided educational assistance to some 100 poor but deserving students and children of tobacco farmers in Northern Luzon.

Mighty Corporation (Mighty Corp) President and Retired General Edilberto Adan said that the college scholarship grant was coursed through the Wong Chu King Foundation and is part of the 10 million pesos joint projects between Mighty Corp and the National Federation of Tobacco Farmers and Cooperatives Inc. (NAFTAC) that aims to help about 65,000 farmers in Pangasinan, La Union, Abra, Cagayan, Isabella, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur.

“Education is known to be a powerful equalizer. It gives children from low-income families a fighting chance to uplift themselves and their families from poverty and lead productive and meaningful lives.” said Adan.

The college scholarship program of Wong Chu King and Mighty Corp is a supplemental program to the scholarship projects of the National Tobacco Administration (NTA) for all graduating high school students and dependents of tobacco farmers.

“This is our way of thanking the farmers for helping to make our company what it is today,”  Adan said during the formal signing of the project at a hotel in Bauang, La Union last February 8.

NAFTAC National President Mario Cabasal said that the group is very happy that Mighty Corp has stood firm on its commitment to help the tobacco farmers in the Philippines.

Mighty Corp Executive Vice President and Retired Judge Oscar Barrientos said that Wong Chu King Foundation initially offered the scholarship program to the dependents of active Mighty Corp employees but later expanded it to include dependents of retired employees with excellent academic records.

“Through this program, we hope to help the farmers and their children become competitive in the global market and earn sustainable incomes,” Barrientos said.

The foundation currently has 6 high school and 14 college students on scholarship in various schools nationwide. Two of the scholars graduated last year.

James Rommel Silao graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Chemistry from UP Diliman. He is now a chemist at the Mighty Corp manufacturing facility in Malolos City, Bulacan.

Abigail Punongbayan, the daughter of Conching Ong Punongbayan, production head of   Mighty Corp, graduated Cum Laude with a degree in Medical Technology at UST. She is now taking up medicine.

Bohol Quake Prompts Local Firm To Build More Churches

The Philippines which sits along the so-called 'pacific ring of fire' is one of the countries in the world that is very much prone to volcanic activities and earthquakes. The quake incidence which destroyed several historical churches in the country particularly in the province of Bohol and Cebu has firmed up the advocacy of Filipino-owned tobacco manufacturing company Mighty Corporation to build more churches in the country.

“The recent calamities that hit the country last year only strengthened the Filipino faith. Mighty Corp will continue to build churches that Filipinos go to in their times of great trials,” said Retired Judge Oscar P. Barrientos, the executive Vice President and spokesperson of Mighty Corporation.

Mighty Corporation through its corporate social responsibility arm, the Wong Chu King Foundation, helped in renovating the Diocesan Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Naic, Cavite as well as the Basilica Minore of the Our Lady of Piat in Cagayan.

In a handwritten letter, Cagayan Archbishop Emeritus Diosdado Talamayan expressed gratitude to the wongchuking family and said, “For the past many years, I have personally known Mrs. Nelia Wongchuking. She, together with the entire family, are great devotees of the Our Lady of Piat.”

Mrs Nelia Wongchuking heads the Wong Chu King Foundation.

Archbishop Talamayan added that the family has also built a chapel in Malolos, Bulacan as a gesture of their devotion to the Our Lady of Piat.

The foundation also initiated relief operations in the province of Bulacan and Cavite when they were hit by the recent typhoon and monsoon rains.

Meanwhile, Caceres Archbishop Rolando Tirona and other church leaders express their support to the initiatives of the Wong Chu King Foundation and also to Mighty Corporation in its current struggle to clear its name on charges of technical smuggling and tax evasion.

Mighty Corporation and Wong Chu King Foundation Hailed as Apostolic Work Champions

Kodus to Mighty Corporation and the Wong Chu King Foundation!

Mighty Corporation or Mighty Corp, the first and only Filipino-owned cigarette manufacturing company in the Philippines is also the most active business entity when it comes to Catholic apostolic works.

They have been involved in a lot of projects particularly in support of the Catholic church and their various endeavors.

The Roman Catholic prelate of La Union recently commended the Wong Chu King Foundation, the social action arm of Mighty Corporation, for giving top priority to apostolic works and Catholic education programs. 

Bishop Rodolfo Beltran of San Fernando City said that Mighty Corp through the Wong Chu King Foundation has donated to various church initiatives and also funded the scholarship program for the poor children in Lagawe, Bontoc, that includes four seminarians.

“The parents of these students are low-income farmers producing only for local consumption. You can imagine the positive impact this kind of support has for them,” said Fr. Beltran. 

Created in 1990, the foundation aims to give honor to the memory of Wongchuking, the family patriarch, a philanthropist known for his generosity to the poor. 

The foundation’s thrust includes scholarship programs and raising funds for other charitable projects. 

Wong Chu King Foundation renovated the Basilica Minore of the Our Lady of Piat Church in Cagayan province two years ago as well as the Diocesan Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Naic, Cavite last year.

Our Lady of Piat

Auxiliary Bishop Ricardo Baccay of Tuguegarao City described the foundation's current initiatives as “a step in the right direction... if Wong Chu King Foundation is really out to help schools, putting up libraries is the best form of help that it can give.”

Meanwhile, Archbishop emeritus Diosdado Talamayan of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao City said: “I have personally known Mrs. Nelia Wongchuking, the chariman of the board of trustees of the Wong Chu King Foundation. She and her family are great devotees of the Our Lady of Piat. They have erected a chapel in Malolos City, Bulacan, dedicated to the Our Lady of Piat, which was blessed by many Bishops including Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales in 2012.”