Sometime in the early part of 2008, the incumbent President and Chairman of the Board of PRELLI Foundation, Inc., Dr. LANIZA D. JUAN, in the company of the incumbent Corporate Secretary, PERCIDA C. QUIAMBAO, decided to venture in the mining of manganese ore in Sitio Bot-Ol, Brgy. Bueno, Capas, Tarlac. In the course of their preparation and submission of the voluminous requirements called for, they had a chance to meet with the then Chief of the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) of Region III in the person of Director SALONG M. SUNGGOD for his signature on certain documents.
During their lengthy conversation, the NCIP Director commended the civic action and livelihood assistance projects then being conducted in said barangay by Dr. JUAN and her close associates, namely: RAQUEL V. REYES, Atty. ELISEO M. CRUZ and Col. VIRGILIO YALUNG. The group’s humanitarian ventures were still then solely intended for the members of the Aeta tribes and other indigenous people in the hinterlands of Brgy. Bueno, particularly those who will be employed as workers in the proposed mining venture. The financing of said civic projects were from the meager resources and personal contributions of the above-mentioned individuals and their immediate families.
In addition to Director SUNGGOD’s earlier statements, he mentioned his observation on the lamentable plight of a big number of Aetas within the region or his area of jurisdiction who are not being benefitted by the grants and donations coming from various charitable institutions from other countries. According to him, the money intended for the Aetas are being diverted to the pockets of the influential, the names of which he did not specify.
Perhaps feeling the sincere humanitarian efforts of Dr. JUAN and her company, on that same meeting the NCIP Director prodded the former to organize a Foundation which was thereafter seriously taken into consideration. The Director’s sincere expression of confidence led him to issue on January 15, 2009 a favorable endorsement to Hon. ESPERANZA CABRAL, the then Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), vouching the group’s meritorious activities and humanitarian services.
The following day, January 16, 2009, perhaps in conformity with Director SUNGGOD’s letter, the DSWD Director IV Ma. AICIA S. BONOAN of the Standards Bureau made written representations with the then Director of the Securities and Echange Commission (SEC) favorably endorsing Dr. JUAN’s proposed organization for registration with said Agency. Hence, few days later and after tedious preparation and submission of various documents required by the government offices concerned, PRELLI Foundation, Inc. was born! It was registered with the SEC Central Office in Manila on January 22, 2009 under Registration No. CN 200900790 and TIN No. 007-212-080.
On the same year, the Foundation was issued by the Department of Social Welfare and Development Registration No. FO-III-R-00010-2009 and was renewed on November 28, 2019 under DSWD-FOIII-R-00028-2019. A Certificate of License to Operate was likewise granted on the same day under DSWD-FOIII-RL-99994-2019 for satisfactorily complying with the licensing requirements to operate as a Social Work Agency implementing community-based services in accordance with Section 23 of Republic Act No. 4373.
With the foregoing facts, and along with other non-government organizations, PRELLI Foundation, Inc. gives the impression that it was born to help respond to the pressing economic difficulties peculiar to the times. Since its establishment in 2009, and despite its inadequate resources, PRELLI had made plans and conducted programs for sustained civic action activities by extending basic assistance to the underprivileged individuals, especially the indigenous families in its pilot area in Brgy. Bueno that hinder them from attaining their full human potential.
To soothe the curiosity of some individuals as to how the Foundation got its name, in reality the word PRELLI was derived from the first letters of the nickname of Dr. JUAN and her above-mentioned close associates, except Col. YALUNG whose last syllable of his nickname was used, as follows: P for PERCY; R for RAQUEL; E for ELI; L for LANI; and LI for BILLI. These people exerted collective efforts in organizing the Foundation, they having common aspiration to help the less-fortunate and the underprivileged sector of the society.
To make the organization’s mission and vision relevant and applicable, the Founders gave PRELLI a more significant meaning such as: “Programs for Rehabilitation and Empowerment of Less-fortunate Lives and Institutions” which is geared towards a balanced development plan that will ensure the interest and welfare of its beneficiaries. Along with their immediate families, friends and members, the PRELLI Founders adopted as their guiding principle a verse in the Bible, particularly Proverbs 19:17 LB, which says “When you help the poor you are lending to the Lord, and He pays wonderful interest on your loan!”
From its modest number of more than a hundred members in 2009, the membership of PRELLI Foundation, Inc. has increased to more than 36,000 as of its fifteen anniversary on January 22, 2024; and as of the middle part of this year PFI membership has reached almost 100,000!
To God be the Glory!
- The PFI Founders
PRELLI Foundation, Inc., is a duly registered non-stock, non-profit civic organization under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines. It was officially registered and recognized on January 22, 2009 by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It is registered licensed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and is operating in the entire Region III and the rest of Central Luzon.
The primary goal of PRELLI Foundation is centered on the guiding principle:
“The common denominator of development is MAN”
Thus, its objectives and programs are indicated in its acronym which means “Programs for Rehabilitation and Empowerment of Less-fortunate Lives and Institutions” (PRELLI), geared towards a balanced and sustainable development plan that will ensure the interest and welfare of its beneficiaries.
Furthermore, PRELLI Foundation, Inc. believes that to create progress, rehabilitation does not end in the construction of houses and other edifices for beneficiaries. Rather, it entails a detailed long-range planning, intensive training on community development which, in the process, the end-results will be shared by the beneficiaries within the community.
With this, PRELLI Foundation, Inc. hopes to produce self-propelling and self-reliant individuals within a balanced and decent environment with great respect for high moral values.
The GREEN portion of the logo symbilizes abundance and prosperity to be brought about by the massive implementation of the various projects and programs of the Foundation especially on the field of agro-industry and related endeavors;
The RED arrow signifies the Foundation's strong commitment and determination to achieve its mission and vision. Noticeably the arrow resembles a dwelling or a house which is the provision of housing units to qualified beneficiaries;
The BLUE circle represents the Foundation's assurance to maintain fairness and equality in the sharing, distribution and allocation of its resources to its deseving members;
The WHITE base underneath the arrow denotes peace and sincerity in the Foundation's goal to render genuine humanitarian services to the less-privileged sector of the society.
PRELLI aims to help alleviate the socio-economic conditions of the less-fortunate thru agro-instrial programs; to be an instrument in empowering and preserving the cultures of its benificiaris; to push for a genuine moral recovery program; to promote education thru the introduction of relevant and effective literacy programs; to campaign for the protection of the environment; and to continously uphold human dignity by helping provide the basic need for food, clothing and shelter.
PRELLI envisons economically empowered, socially uplifted, culturally and morally upright individuals and communities collectively commited to become effective catalysts for progress not only in Tarlac Province but also for the entire country.
