Thursday, December 09, 2010

Memories of Meralco

I mentioned in this blog somewhere that my Mama used to work for Meralco. All her life! So part of my childhood was spent growing up on the vast grounds where the main office stands. Mama was always loyal to Meralco because the company really took care of its employees. The benefits they enjoyed were beyond amazing--comprehensive healthcare, financial help, free theater tickets...

I know that Meralco took a beating this year from irate consumers but I can never feel angry towards the company that put food in my tummy, sent me to school, put clothes on my back and, because of the healthcare, saved my life more than a few times. Besides, like I mentioned in this post, because Vince and I are very smart with our electricity consumption, our electric bill is a lot lower than most people's bills.  

So when I was invited to Meralco's Christmas party at the Ortigas compound, I just had to go. Last Thursday, Meralco turned on the lights of its giant Christmas tree to usher in the Yuletide Season. This year, they're offering the public more attractions: a life-sized electric toy train and a candy-colored Toy Town. I've always loved the giant manger scene made out of copper wire, though, so seeing it again was enough for me.



Being inside the compound just stirred up many memories of Mama and how she worked extra hard and sacrificed so much to provide for us. Some of her officemates came up to me to say hi and to tell me how wonderful a person Mama was. So I was feeling very emotional at the party.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that this year, Meralco is holding its fourth annual Christmas decoration contest! Meralco will award 9 of the brightest and best decorated homes with P25,000 each. The same amount will be donated to Caritas Manila, Childhope Asia and Laura Vicuna Foundation.

There's another contest, this time for communities to join. These subdivisions will decorate a designated less fortunate area to spread Christmas cheer to the people who live there. The winning subdivision gets P150,000. They can either use that money to improve their community or they can donate that money to the partner charities.

Really cool Christmas activities! Very much in keeping with Meralco's "Maliwanag ang Buhay" thrust. If you're interested to join, just log on to the Maliwanag and Pasko website. Have a happy holidays filled with light and love!

For more (and better) photos, click on these:
Meralco lights up Christmas with Toy Town
Meralco shares the light and joy of Christmas

Sorry for the dark photos. My camera's battery was dying so I didn't use flash. But considering that these were taken in very dim conditions, you gotta love the Olympus EPL-1!

4 comments:

  1. naku it made me thought of my childhood too! my father is a retiree of Meralco... I used to play around their hospital corridor were my father used to work.


    happiness

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  2. F, I just need to share the emotions! My grandfathers (all 3 sibs) and dad all worked for Meralco; my lolo for 35 years and my dad for 25. And I'll also be forever grateful to the company who took care of us, our education, provided us our home, our car, and saved my brother's life, twice! They remembered and cared for my lolo until his last breath. Now I'm emotional. =/

    I still remember riding the basket trucks during family days. =) And yes, no matter how negative the public sees them, it can't change my gratitude towards them, ever. =)

    Cheers to us, Meralco babies! =P

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  3. Oh, Frances! I also have very fond memories of Meralco. Remember the fishes in the pond around the main building? There's the lucky fish of Mr. Manolo (I don't remember the name of the fish). I would spend my after-school hours in my Dad's office. Me too, I can never have ill feelings towards Meralco with all the bad press they're getting as Meralco helped with my education, healthcare and basically, the lifestyle we had growing up.

    Cheers to us, Meralco babies indeed!

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  4. i feel the same way about PAL. i know a lot of people hate PAL now, but when my mom used to work there, we enjoyed free medical, free flights all over the world, and even now, i still have tickets.

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