CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- San Miguel Brewery Inc., (SMB) a subsidiary of San Miguel Corporation, on Thursday turned over a P500,000 donation to the Foundation for Lingap Kapampangan, Inc. (FLKI), to help build the Kapampangan Cultural Center (KCC).
The construction of the proposed museum located at the old site of the Pampanga High School near the Provincial Capitol in this city is the banner project of the FLKI, with its aim to help promote and preserve Kapampangan culture and tradition.
Once completed, the KCC will be the permanent home of some of the province’s treasured artifacts and memorabilia. It can be noted that since the late 90s, some of Pampanga’s historical collections were housed at the Clark Museum and are currently in storage.
FLKI chairperson Rolando Rodriguez noted that with SMB’s donation, the group is one step closer to make their dream of building the museum a reality.
“We’re very happy because SMB, which is one of the major companies in the Philippines, acknowledge their contribution for the Kapampangan heritage. We hope that this is not the last, because we still have a long way to go,” he said.
He noted that the donation given by SMB will go the museum’s roofing construction.
“With the funds that we received from our last project which is the Philippine Madrigal Singers (Madz) concert, plus this donation from SMB, we can finally be able to restart the construction of the KCC. Our initial target is to put the roof, so we can already be able to host activities inside the building. With this, our kabalens will know that the construction of the center is moving,” he noted.
The socio-civic leader furthered that another initiative of the group to hasten the fundraising for the construction of the building, is to call out Pampanga High School alumni for donations and pledges.
He added that the FLKI is also planning to host a fundraising dinner, whose proceeds will go to the envisioned cultural center.
“Sinukwan is coming up and we’re planning several activities aimed at raising funds for the benefit of the KCC,” he shared.
The chairman then highlighted that the foundation is committed to raise over P30-million to fund the construction of the rest of the building, which will feature exhibition rooms, laboratory, and interactive display areas, among others.
“We want to raise another P30 million, but we’re also hoping to get help from the Capitol. Governor Lilia Pineda vowed that she is willing to help,” he said.
For his part, SMB San Fernando Plant Manager Larry Santos noted that the company is always ready to support the FLKI and its advocacies.
“We have a very strong tie up with the FLKI, and we intend to make it stronger in the coming years. We want to assure the group that we will always support their projects and their endeavors to help our kabalens and uplift the province,” he said.
“Moreover, this is a very exciting project for us, as San Miguel is really into helping preserve the cultural heritage of Kapampangans, especially our president, Mr. Roberto Huang is a true-blooded Kapampangan. I’ve heard there will be an alloted portion of the museum for the brewery, and we are very much anticipating the completion of the whole Kapampangan Cultural Center,” he continued.
Santos said that apart from its role in helping preserve the rich culture of the province, SMB San Fernando Brewery also continues to fulfill its mission in helping the community through regular medical and feeding programs, livelihood projects, tree planting activities, as well as clean-up drives.