ICTSI Foundation strengthens collaboration with 10 development partners

ICTSI Foundation’s (IF) support for children’s health, literacy and protection, as well as for athletes, farmers, teachers, biodiversity environment and will continue under its new and existing development partners. 

IF has signed two new memorandums of agreement and renewed existing MoAs with eight other development partners during its Institutional Partners Forum and MOA Signing event on 13 February at Solaire Resort Forum. The event also provided an opportunity for IF’s partners to be informed of current issues in the development space and explore potential collaborations.

Youth development

IF’s partners implement projects under its three development pillars: youth development, environment protection, and community welfare. The focus for youth development is addressing the country’s education crisis.

The Foundation renewed its MoA with Binhi English Literacy Foundation which provides remedial reading classes and summer reading camp to develop foundational literacy skills for 700 kinder to grade 3 students, and build capacities of 140 public school teachers from three public elementary schools in Manila International Container Terminal’s (MICT) host community in Tondo, Manila. MICT is managed, operated and developed by ICTSI or International Container Terminal Services Inc.

Since 2022, IF and Binhi have supported over 500 kinder to grade 3 students with evidence-based reading interventions to overcome illiteracy.

To further curb the rising illiteracy, IF engaged AHA Learning Center to support 1,200 struggling readers from grades 4 to 6 in two public elementary schools neighboring ICTSI’s flagship port of MICT. The goal is to help the students achieve grade-appropriate reading proficiency and numeracy.

IF continues its technical-vocational scholarship through Don Bosco Youth Center Tondo, which provides 500 students with technical skills and better employment opportunities. To date, more than 2,300 tech-voc scholars have been supported through the partnership that began in 2021.

IF continues to champion children’s rights through its renewed partnerships with social protection institutions. 

Its continued support to Child Protection Network for the fifth consecutive year will sustain the provision of medical, legal, social and mental health services to around 1,000 persons in need of special protection at the Philippine General Hospital-Child Protection Unit this 2026. In addition, this also supports the continuing online training for professionals and individuals in handling local cases of abuse.

Through Voice of the Free Foundation, IF’s support will continue to the Center of Hope, a rehabilitation shelter for children rescued from trafficking, ensuring that in-house residents receive essential services for holistic healing and recovery. 

The partnership also expands iFIGHT, the anti-human trafficking and child abuse awareness campaign in Manila public high schools.  

Through IF’s partnership with Philippine Athletics Inc. (formerly Philippine Athletics and Track and Field Association Inc. or PATAFA), IF’s support for more than 1,000 Filipino athletes and coaches continues, helping showcase local talent in both the local and international stages.

Since 2023, the collaboration has resulted in outstanding performances from the Philippine team. In 2025, PAI contributed to the country’s biggest medal haul in Philippine athletics history in 42 years, gaining 31 medals during the recent 33rd South East Asian Games.

Reforestation, community welfare

IF also reaffirmed commitment to revive native forests, protect biodiversity, and support the socio-economic well-being of farmers and fisherfolks in local communities through expanded and new forest enrichment projects.

Under the renewed partnership with the Protected Area Management Board of the Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape, IF will help fund the implementation of SBPS’s five-year Mangrove Investment Plan, which aims to restore 22.88 hectares of coastal habitats across Sarangani Bay while engaging local communities and youth. The project would restore degraded mangrove areas, enhance biodiversity, and create sustainable livelihood opportunities.

IF’s MoA with Ramon Aboitiz Foundation will see the planting of 20,000 mangroves in Lian, Batangas while new partner Forest Foundation Philippines will plant 25,000 native trees in Victoria-Anepahan Mountain Range.

IF continues the Parola EcoPatrols project with the Philippine Business for Social Progress as its implementing arm. Now on its 13th year, the program has successfully fostered positive behavioral change among residents of Parola and Isla Puting Bato in Tondo, Manila, significantly strengthening solid waste management systems in ICTSI’s flagship host communities. 

IF’s continued investment in youth, environment, and communities reflect its strong commitment in building a resilient future for the next generation.