In the tight-knit town of Barangay Pinagtung-ulan in San Jose, Batangas, the San Rafael Church is where members of the community gather to celebrate mass and other special occasions together. Since its establishment in 1982, the church’s structures have gone through infrastructural wear and tear. With his love for the San Rafael Church, youth leader Dan Joseph Ramos dreamt of having the church renovated for his community.
Back in September, Dan came across a post about Shopee’s Barangay Shopee initiative – a contest where a barangay could win a community project of their choice. With his dream of renovating their local church, Dan took his chances and submitted a video entry for Barangay Shopee on the last day of the entry submission period. Little did he know that out of hundreds of entries submitted nationwide, his would be chosen as one of Barangay Shopee’s two winners.
Over the last month and a half, the church underwent renovations – with restorations to its exterior, roof, ceiling, flooring, and other structures. Shopee employees and members of Barangay Pinagtung-ulan also volunteered to paint the fence surrounding the church to foster the community spirit.
Last December 17, Shopee traveled to San Jose, Batangas to officially reveal the newly renovated San Rafael Church and celebrate with the members of Barangay Pinagtung-ulan.
“Maraming, maraming salamat Shopee. Hindi namin inakalain na kami ay mananalo sa Barangay Shopee. Lahat ng mga ginagawa po dito sa aming barangay ay bunga po ng bayanihan kaya sumali kami sa Shopee Bayanihan.” shared Dan.
Hon. Valentino Patron, Mayor of San Jose, Batangas, shared “Bilang ama ng bayan ng San Jose, ako’y nalulugod dahil sa dami ng naghangad na maging Barangay Shopee, napili ang Barangay Pinagtung-ulan. Ako ay lubos na nagpapasalamat sa Shopee para sa patuloy nilang pagsuporta sa aming komunidad.”
Martin Yu, Director at Shopee Philippines, shared “We were inspired by Dan’s passion for serving both his church and community. His moving entry reminded us of our commitment to foster the community spirit of barangays all over the Philippines. We are grateful for the support of our communities all over the country, and we look forward to doing more for them with initiatives like Barangay Shopee.”
Through Barangay Shopee and all initiatives under Shopee Bayanihan, Shopee furthers its objective to bettering the lives of the underserved by helping communities benefit from the power of technology wherever they are in the Philippines.