A bird’s eye view of the participants taken from La Mesa Watershed’s iconic towerOne thing that many of our Lopez employees missed coming from the pandemic was Walk the Talk (WTT) activities. These were the regular walking events organized by the Lopez HR Council that brought together the employees and family members of the Lopez Group of companies as they walked for their health and fitness and did a host of other wellness activities.

During the lockdowns, there were innovative efforts to incorporate wellness activities in safer virtual settings. But as the restrictions gradually loosened, it was a common experience for our companies’ HRs to be approached by employees and asked when the face-toface walks would be resumed.

Finally, in response to everyone’s wish, the perfect opportunity to reintroduce the WTT came during this year’s celebration of Environment Month.

The WTT activities and the appreciation of the environment go hand in hand because historically, almost all WTT venues were chosen to be held in areas where nature and the environment can be enjoyed along with the walk. The WTT hosts and organizers ensure that the good environmental practices of the Lopez Group are applied in the activities, such as instructing participants to bring their own drinking bottles, teaching the participants to preserve and respect the area, and tapping food and event partners that have similar green sensibilities.

In addition, the return of WTT this year was done in honor of departed chairman emeritus Oscar M. Lopez (OML). OML has been credited as the founder of WTT when he started the idea of encouraging his colleagues and family members to join him for leisurely walks many years ago. OML’s leadership by example when it came to his walks impressed everyone, and his love for walking was organically passed to on through the years to generations of Lopez employees throughout the Group. Many Lopez employees have fond memories of OML joining them in many WTT activities every chance he would get.

Excitement was seen in the faces of the Lopez employees when they arrived at La Mesa Watershed in Quezon City on June 24, 2023, as they knew that they were participating in a special WTT that was the first to be held after several years. It was noticeable that there were not only the usual veteran and returning participants, but also new and younger employees and family members who only heard of WTT before, and now were finding themselves to be a part of the tradition.

Though the number could be higher, the participants were capped during registration at 200 as a post-COVID precaution. Of the 200, First Balfour had the biggest contingent as the WTT was one of the venues of their company activity where First Balfour teams were also planting trees in other areas nationwide.

The program began with talks from Lopez HR Council chairperson Cedie Lopez Vargas, Knowledge Channel Foundation Inc. president Rina Lopez and First Balfour HR head Caloy Salonga. After the participants were warmed up and briefed on the safety and environmental procedures, they proceeded with their almost four-kilometer trek into the La Mesa Watershed forest. The next day being Arbor Day, a part of the forest was prepared for the participants so they can stop and plant trees.

Upon their return to the base camp, the participants were rewarded with a heavy breakfast wrapped in banana leaves, new-found camaraderie with companies old and new, and fresh shared stories and memories of being able to walk together and plant trees again after the pandemic.

Embraced by verdant nature and surrounded by work colleagues, family and friends, this special Walk the Talk became a grand and fulfilling way to celebrate Envi Month and Arbor Day, and especially to give a loving tribute to the memory of OML. (Story/Photos by:Dimpy Jazmines)

Walkers are not too tired from their walk to still manage smiles and waves
Rina Lopez and Cedie Lopez Vargas lead the planting of the trees. With them are Rina’s daughter-in-law Anacelle Layug and grandson Aldo
Some of the organizers of the Walk the Talk—SKY’s and Lopez HR Council’s Dimpy Jazmines, Lopez Group Foundation Inc.’s Perpi Tiongson and Faith Bacon, and First Balfour’s Anchel Cruz—receive plaques of appreciation from the ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. team